A Black and White Story: Book Two
by Brown-Eyed-Marauderette
Summary: The Sequel to A Black and White Story:Book One. After meeting two years ago, the gang is back. The world outside of Hogwarts is steadily turning more and more dangerous and one of their own learns first hand how ruthless Death Eaters can be when her home is attacked. Not only do they have to deal with Death Eaters but throw in some teen romance and it makes for an interesting year
1. Prologue

_The night was still as the figure glided down the street. All the muggles were tending to their children, sending them off to the land of happiness and dreams. He watched through a window as a muggle mother put her daughter into a crib and lean down to give her a kiss. The father wrapped his arms around his wife's waist from behind and looked down at the miracle of life they had created. The figure's hand twitched towards his wand. But something stopped him._

_He shook his head as he walked down the street talking to himself. _

_"Send a message, just the girl." He reminded himself. His voice was airy and almost whisper like. _

_There was no one else in the street as he walked down the street so no one found him out of place in his dark cloak that swirled around him with no breeze._

_He paused a moment again to look out past the edge of the village. There was a house that was just barely visible in the setting sun, the dying rays of the sun outlining it. The house looked like the only thing that held it up was magic. The house was lopsided and there were multiple beams of holding up some of the higher up floors. _

_There was a vein on his forehead that bulged when he saw the house. The man twisted his head like he was trying to crack his neck. His beady red eyes were flashing with anger and it seemed like it took every ounce of his self control to not go up to the house he was glaring at._

_He sighed and reminded himself of his mission again._

_Then slowly, he started walking again towards his objective. He passed house after house and family after family until he found the house he was looking for. _

_A twisted smile formed on his lips giving him a sinister look. He walked up the path to the front door and pointed his wand at the door. The lock made a silent click as it opened for the intruder._

_He silently walked into the dark house. He squinted as he looked at some of pictures hanging on the walls, showing the blend of the two that lived there families. Pictures of beloved siblings and revered parents covered the walls._

_The house was dead silent. The only noise coming from the living room was the fire crackled with dying embers. Even in the dim light, the fire gave the girl sleeping on the couch a warm glow. A blanket was up to her chin, her hands resting on her stomach. A book was on the floor, opened to some random page. Her wand was resting on the end table, just within arm's length of her. _

_"Silly girl," The man spoke down at the sleeping girl as he grabbed her wand, "you make this too easy."_

_Her nose twitched in her sleep. She half opened her eyes, still in a sleep induced haze. She muttered the name of her lover but then her eyes snapped open when she saw who was standing above her and she jumped from the couch and groped for her wand. _

_"Are you missing something?" the man taunted her, waved her wand in his left hand._

_Her mouth dropped open and all color left her face._

_"You bastard." She breathed in shock._

_He shrugged, the insult not affecting him in the least._

_"Petrificus Totalus."_

_Her body froze; her eyes were the only thing that moved as they watched his every move around her living room. He walked around, stopping to look at the pictures while talking to her calmly as if he was an invited guest._

_"You seem surprised that I am here. I would have thought that you would have at least put up some wards after that announcement your stupid father made yesterday. It is either very brave or very foolish for you not to do so. Between us, I think it is quite foolish."_

_He stopped to pick up a picture._

_"Is this your family? Your brother looks quite a bit like you." He said._

_Tears were streaming down her eyes at the mention of her family._

_He turned back towards her. "You don't have to die you know. Your blood is pure and we could use a strong witch like you on our side. You would be welcomed into our ranks, an honored guest, to help us. It's all up to you."_

_The harshness in her eyes said it all. The man tutted sadly at her while shaking his head._

_"It's too sad. You could have been great. Oh well."_

_He raised his wand and held it level to her face._

_"Ava-"_

_At some point, she had become unpetrified and she tackled him to the ground, his yell of surprise echoed through the house. They struggled on the floor, the girl at a serious disadvantage but that just made her fight harder. With his wand, he blasted her off of him and she crashed into the end table, breaking the lamp completely and shattering a few pictures, before she hit the piano against the wall. She looked up at him with utmost disgust._

_"I will never follow you, you sad excuse for a wizard!"_

_"How dare you address me in such a manner? CRUCIO!" He shouted at her, making a slashing movement with his wand._

_She screamed in pain as she crumpled to the floor. After a moment, the man lifted the curse and looked coldly down at the girl, still twitching on the ground._

_"Have you reconsidered my offer?" He asked her softly._

_"Hell. No." she gasped out._

_His eyes were cold as he regarded her._

_"Have it your way. But let's have a little fun first. Maybe that will teach your idiot father a lesson." He made a slashing motion with his wand._

_But she brought hers up just in time and silently cast a protective shield in front of her._

_The duel was fierce. The two non-verbally shot spell after spell at each other while verbally taunting and insulting the other. During the fight, the entire living room was destroyed and part of a wall was blasted apart. Glass and pieces of furniture littered the floor along with scraps of fabric and wood._

_For a moment it appeared the girl was winning the fight and she smiled triumphantly._

_But then the unthinkable happened._

_It was a split second that the entire tide of the fight changed._

_Her wand flew from her hand through the hole in the wall. She watched it go with terror and shock in her eyes. She turned to look at her opponent and before she could even say or do anything, the man shouted the unforgivable curse._

_"AVADA KEDAVRA!"_

_The girl fell like a rag doll to the ground dead, her unseeing eyes gazing up at the brilliant gold lion on a crimson shield that hung above her mantel.  
_

_The man laughed a high, shrill laugh and pointed his wand to the ceiling. "MORSMORDRE!"  
_

_A giant skull appeared above the house, a snake appeared coming out of the skull's mouth and moved as if it was licking the stars.  
_

_He looked down at the girl, "I think your father has learned his lesson."  
_

_With that, he silently disappeared out of thin air, leaving the dead girl laying in the middle of the living room.  
_

_The last spark of the fire died and the room was enveloped in darkness.  
_

Elyse awoke with a gasp.

* * *

_And thus begins our venture into the second book of A Black and White Story. As promised this book is going to be focused a lot more on Elyse (as if you couldn't tell from this chapter) and there are going to be a lot of visions and references to the future. Not all of them will make sense in this book and possibly not in this series. But if you are patient and you stick with this to the very end, everything will come full circle and it will make sense. I promise you. If something changes in my plan, I always go back and change what needs to be changed so everything fits. So sometimes you might have to go back to understand stuff. Sometimes I will remind everyone at the beginning of a chapter to go back and read another chapter of the current book or a previous one if it is that important. _

_If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I love it when people ask questions and they point things about. Heck, a bunch of people saying that Elyse didn't get enough love in couple chapters actually inspired this chapter, if that makes any sense._

_Anyway, tell me what you think of this beginning. I promise that it won't remain as dark as this. Believe it or not, this is going to be one of the happier books in the series._

_Don't forget to REVIEW!_


	2. Kiltimagh to Godric's Hallow

It was a cool summer's day in the middle of August. Near the top of one of the smaller hills stood a house made completely of stone. Ivy was wrapped around one of the walls. Smoke gently rose from the chimney, painting a grey streak across the pale blue sky. Across the fields dancing with Common Centauries, Gorse, and Montbretia there was the quaint little town of Kiltimagh, Ireland. Following the path from town to the stone cottage, Yarrow decorated both sides of the dirt road. It was a painter's idyllic scene.

Sitting at the top of a hill a little past the house was a young girl. She was sitting cross legged on the ground; only the top of her vibrant red hair visible. The girl simply sat there, her serene, pale green eyes looked unfocused as she looked out into the Irish landscape. In her hands, she played with a stick she found on the ground and occasionally looked at two pieces of paper.

This girl, no matter how normal she looked, was anything but. She was a witch, a muggleborn girl that had not just been given the ability to do magic but the ability to see the future. Elyse O'Brian was simply not fiddling with a twig. It was her wand; silver lime, reasonably supple, slightly rigid, with a dragon heartstring core. There was a painful stabbing in her heart as she thought of the day she got her wand.

Ollivander seemed slightly surprised that she 'chose' that wand. He explained it is a rare match for a muggleborn since the wood had been associated with seers and the beyond for centuries. It was that seeing ability that made her quickly reread over the two letters that had shown up at her house earlier that morning.

The first one was from her best friend, Ursula Black. The words were a little shaky and they were slanted down the paper and sometimes ran into each other but Elyse was able to make out the words.

_Elyse,_

_I don't have much time to write. I just got your letter from a week ago. _

_Sirius and I are fine. The worst thing that happened to us so far was being forced to go to Bellatrix's wedding. In some twisted, reversed way, I feel sorry for the bloke. I mean, my cousin is insane. You remember her; she is completely demented. It wasn't that bad of an experience because Ben was there (his dad is the Minister of Magic so he automatically got invited) so we got into a little bit of mischief. James would be proud. _

_But what you said about your eyesight problem, I think you need to tell Dumbledore. There isn't a better or wiser wizard alive right now to help you. Trust me; if Dumbles can't help you, no one can. Just don't write anything in a letter. Things can be intercepted and the wrong people could read it so exercise caution. I don't want to see you get hurt because of something you wrote._

_As you can guess, my eyesight came back a lot during the summer. I have to wear these thick glasses (and probably will have to for the rest of my life) to see but I'm not complaining when faced with the other option!_

_Sirius says hi and hopes you are doing better._

_Can't wait to see you next week at the Potter's. Don't forget to bring your camera._

_-Ursula_

The second piece of paper in her hand held a much shorter message.

_I will be at your home on August 14__th__._

The letter wasn't even signed but since it was delivered by a phoenix, Elyse had a pretty good idea who it was from. She had written a letter to her headmaster earlier that week, saying that it was urgent that she speak to him and that what he needed to know couldn't be put down in a letter. She had received a response in less than twenty-four hours.

There was suddenly a rustling of grass behind her. Soft, barely audible footsteps walked towards her. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw the light purple flowing robes of her headmaster. He gently lowered himself to the ground and joined her looking over the Irish country side.

It was almost comical how he looked so out of place in her home. Growing up, she never imagined that someone that looked much like Albus Dumbledore would be sitting next to her.

"Hello Elyse," he greeted her in his soft, calming voice.

"Hello Professor," she greeted right back in her harsh, raspy whisper.

His eyes were twinkling and he smiled a little bit at her, "I see you have made great progress in your recovery."

She simply nodded, having no response. What he said was true. She practiced all the exercises that Madame Pomfrey told her to and she drank all her potions exactly when she was supposed to. Also, helping once a week a Healer from St. Mungo's would visit her house and help her with her speaking. As a result of having to learn how to speak again, some of her accent had disappeared. None of the kids in the village found it odd (they had been told she caught tuberculosis at school) since she still retained most of her accent but she was able to hear it every time she spoke and she hated it.

Dumbledore's eyes became oddly serious. "I'm assuming that you did not write me to inform me that you're voice has come back."

She chanced a look at his eyes and she immediately felt calmed by the comforting blue hidden behind his spectacles. But almost immediately she recalled a vision and her heart started racing again.

He put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Whatever you need to say, you can," he assured her.

She looked away from his eyes and looked back at Kiltimagh.

"It has to do with my visions." She said softly.

"Ah," Dumbledore said softly as he removed his hand.

She continued on as if he had never spoken, "I've been seein' different thin's. I used teh see simple thin's, like woot grade I got on me work or 'o woot me friends was doin'. But now," she laughed bitterly, "I wish I were seein tat."

"What do you mean?"

"I've seen people I know murdered. Me best friends dying."

Dumbledore was silent a moment as he took that in. He spoke in a deep, grave voice, "You are aware that you cannot tell me about these visions correct?"

She nodded once, "I can't tell yeh any specifics. But I don't want teh tell yeh. I want yeh teh stop 'em."

He raised his eyebrows and he looked amused and surprised. "No matter what anyone has told you, I am not all powerful. I cannot stop your visions from happening. I am sorry."

Elyse didn't respond for a moment. When she did, her voice was soft and scared. "But woot am I supposed teh do? I have teh go teh school wit some of'em knowin' when and 'ow they're going teh die. I can't look 'em in teh face knowin' that I've teh ability teh stop their deaths boot I can't."

"Elyse," He began softly, "You're friends are still alive."

"But tey won't be!" Elyse said harshly at him. Her green eyes were sparking and her knuckles turned white as she clenched her fists. Almost immediately she looked abashed at her behavior. "I'm sorry Professor."

Dumbledore patted her on the shoulder. "It's alright, Elyse. You are under a lot of stress right now."

"I'm scared Professor," she admitted in a small voice as tears started racing down her freckled cheeks.

She couldn't believe those words had just slipped out of her mouth. She was a Gryffindor, she was supposed to be brave and courageous and here she was turning into a blubbering idiot in front of her headmaster. He had faced threats and dangers far greater than here and he was sitting perfectly calm next to her with a twinkle in his eyes. No doubt he finally realized that the Sorting Hat made a mistake. She was too weak to be a Gryffindor, she didn't have the blood to be in Slytherin, and she wasn't smart enough to be a Ravenclaw. She would go to Hufflepuff for sure. It wasn't so bad, she mused. According to Sirius they are close to the kitchens. That wouldn't be too bad.

But then Dumbledore said something that she would remember until the day she died.

"Sometimes what scares us and hurts us the most, in the end is our greatest strength."

Her brows furrowed, "Woot does 'hat mean Professor?"

He smiled in a way that was infuriating while at the same time being uniquely Dumbledore. "Whatever you take it to be."

"I don't understand." She admitted after a moment of thinking about it.

"I didn't expect you to." He said.

Deciding that she wasn't going to get a straight answer from the Headmaster and also contemplating if anyone would ever understand the old man sitting on the grass, she stood and offered her hand down to him.

"Would yeh like teh join us fer dinna?" She asked him and she helped him to his feet. "Me mam is excited teh talk teh yeh again."

Dumbledore's eyes sparkled and he nodded. "If I do recall correctly, your mother made the best cornbread I've ever tasted. Just don't tell Professor Sprout." He winked at her and together they set off for the small stone cottage.

* * *

Five days later, Elyse held a suitcase in her left hand as she threw floo powder into her fireplace. Her mother fussed over her right before she stepped into the green flames. She waved goodbye to them before she threw some more power and shouted clearly, "Number 18 Godric's Lane!"

She saw glimpses of other houses before she appeared in the living room of the Potters. It was not much different than she remembered. The only thing that changed was there were more pictures hanging in the room with different people. Before Elyse was able to get a good look at the pictures, she was rugby tackled to the ground.

"ELYSE!" Her best friend Ursula shouted as she hugged her.

Elyse laughed and wrapped her arms around the black haired girl, overjoyed that she looked normal. Not a bruise was in sight and her eyes were sparkling behind her rectangular, thick horntail rimmed glasses.

"Dog pile!" James shouted as he jumped on top of Ursula. Sirius and Ben joined laughing while Peter looked unsure if to join and Remus just turned a page in his book, apparently immune to these things by now.

"You're not going to join us Moony?" James asked, making puppy dog eyes.

Remus rolled his eyes a little. "Because what I want to do a few days after the full moon when my bones break apart to form wolf-like limbs and I literally try to maul myself to death is join a dog pile. How silly of me."

James started laughing but the crushing weight of his two other friends left him silently laughing and shaking in the middle of the pile.

"Boys!" Mrs. Potter scolded as she walked in to greet Elyse. "We let our guests put their luggage away before we accost them."

"Yes ma'am." The boys said simultaneously said and they rolled off the girls. Ursula held tight to her best friend, pinning Elyse's arms to her side.

"That includes you too, Ursula." She chided gently.

Ursula sighed but got off her friend. She held her hand down and helped the red head to her feet. Once of her feet, Elyse was able to see what summer had done for her friends. Ursula was now standing three inches taller than her; two more than last year. The boys on the other hand were even taller. With some of them almost fourteen, they had shot up like weeds. Remus, who had stood up to say hello to her, was now the tallest, towering over his friends. Ben was just barely taller than Sirius and James, but all three towered over her lithe frame. Peter had also grown, but compared to his friends it was nothing drastic.

But as much as things changed, they also remained the same. Ben's hair was still bright as fire (even though it now flopped into his eyes) and his face still kept his childish features. James's hair was still a mess and he still had his chicken legs. Sirius's hair still fell elegantly into his right eye and his silver eyes remained as joyful and carefree as ever. Peter's hair was getting a little long, but the French sun had done well to him when he visited his grandmother. He was a little burned, but his watery blue eyes were still as friendly as ever. Remus's eyes were actually less guarded and there seemed to a carefreeness about him that would only show us occasionally the previous two years.

At that instant all the visions she had involving the group of people standing in front of her didn't matter. They were here and they were _alive._ She couldn't ask for more.

Caught up in her euphoria, she threw out her arms and gathered as many of them as she could in a hug.

* * *

Later that night, after spending the day outside in the sun with her friends, Elyse walked into the room she shared with Ursula. The black haired girl was reading a book on her bed while she waited for Elyse to finish in the shower. As Elyse dried her hair with the towel, Ursula pulled out her wand.

"You want me to dry it?" She asked.

Elyse looked at her like she was insane. "Yeh can't do magic outside ov Hogwarts!" She whisper said. Her raspy voice sounding like sandpaper in the silent room.

Ursula laughed, "That's only in a muggle home. In a wizard's home, it's the adult's job to make sure minors don't use magic. The Ministry can't tell who used the magic so you can't get caught."

"Wicked," Elyse said with a smile as she nodded her head. "Go ahead."

With her hair perfectly dry and curly Elyse settled into bed after changing into her pajamas.

"So woot 'appened during yeh's summer? Besides teh weddin I mean." Elyse asked.

Ursula was silent a moment, "I've decided I'm never falling love and getting married."

Elyse rolled her eyes, "Of course yeh aren't." She said disbelievingly.

"I'm as serious as my brother right now. Being at Bellatrix's wedding, all the pureblood crap and the arrangement of it; I'm not going to go through with that."

"What are you going to do then?" Elyse asked, propping her head up with her arm to look at Ursula on her bed.

Ursula flopped down on the bed and looked up at the ceiling as she said, "I'm going to find the mugglest muggle of all the muggles in the world and that's who I'll marry. I'm not going to marry some pureblooded wizard who thinks he is all that."

"But yeh agreed teh James's offer teh marry yeh if yeh can't find a husband before yeh's thirty-five." Elyse reminded her of the contradiction. "Woot's teh real reason yeh's don't want teh get married?" Elyse asked, knowing her best friend better than that.

Ursula was silent a moment. At least, Elyse thought she was being silent. But a soft, barely audible sob came from Ursula's bed. Instantly, Elyse hurried out of bed and jumped into Ursula's.

"Woot's wrong Ursey?" She asked, putting a comforting hand around her friend's shoulders.

Ursula laughed to herself and wiped away the tears from her eyes, "I'm being stupid." She muttered to herself.

Elyse tightened her hold around her shoulders, "No yeh's not. Yeh's bein' human. Now tell me woot's happened?"

The other girl sighed and gathered herself before looking Elyse straight in the eyes when she spoke, "You have to promise me that this will remain between the two of us. You can't tell any of the guys and you definitely can't tell Sirius."

"I promise. Just between the two of us," Elyse affirmed.

Ursula laid down on the pillows and didn't look at Elyse when she began her story. "Over the summer, after the wedding, I got up in the middle of the night to get some water because I was thirsty and I didn't want to get Kreacher because he hates me and would probably try to poison me. Anyway, I hear some noises coming from up the stairwell where my parent's room is and it sounded like…" she trailed off with the tips of her ears turning red. "Anyway, I assumed it was my parents. When I passed the drawing room, I saw a shadow. It was my dad."

Elyse gasped at the implication, "Was yeh mom-"

Ursula nodded sadly, "My mom was cheating on my dad and he knew it but you can't get divorced in wizard marriages. It's till _death_. So Dad's been suffering through how many years of marriage with a spouse that cheats on him and he has to live with the family he's created and act like everything's fudging perfect. The pain in my dad's eyes that night…" she shuddered, "I don't want to go through with what happened to my dad." She said with tears in her eyes.

"That's not the worst part, is it?" Elyse could tell, even in the dim moonlight, from Ursula's face that the story was not finished yet.

She shook her head, "I woke up the next morning before either of my brothers. Do you want to know who was standing in the landing getting his cloak on?"

"Who?" Elyse asked, thinking of every male, adult wizard she knew. It was a very limited list.

Ursula shuddered at the memory. "It was Professor Avery."

"AVERY!" Elyse yelped. Ursula's eyes widened and she slapped a hand over Elyse's mouth.

"Shut up! You're going to wake the boys up!"

They lay frozen on a bed for a minute to make sure that no one woke up. When there was only silence Ursula went back to her original position but Elyse still stared at Ursula in shock.

"Yeh's mom shagged Professor Avery 'n 'hat's why yeh decided yeh's neva getting' married?" Elyse asked incredulously.

Ursula frowned and glared at Elyse, "I'm not putting myself in that position. Ever."

Elyse rolled her eyes and sneakily reached behind her and grabbed a pillow. Without warning she brought around the pillow and hit Ursula dead center in the middle of the face. Ursula yelped at looked at the smirking Elyse in shock and anger, "What the bloody hell was that for?" she screeched as she put her glasses back on.

The red headed girl just shrugged, "Yeh didn't put yourself in a position fer 'hat either boot it still 'appened."

Ursula sputtered a moment before determination and resolve settled on her face. "That's it Leprechaun, you're going down." She grabbed a pillow from under her head and went to attack the smaller girl.

Elyse, acting solely off self-preservation, jumped off the bed and ran from the room. Ursula was right on her heels as they sprinted down the hallway. Ursula was able to hit Elyse, who pushed the other girl into the door of Remus, Peter, and Ben's room. The three boys shot up in bed and went to see what the commotion was. They caught Elyse disappearing in James and Sirius's room with Ursula right on her tail, swinging a pillow behind her head. They all shared a look before they raced back to their beds and grabbed their own pillows.

Once the girls entered James's room, Elyse jumped onto Sirius's bed and forced the much taller and stronger sleeping boy in front of her. Sirius looked around with terrified eyes, "What the hell!" He shouted at the shock of being woken up in such a rude manner and seeing his sister brandishing a pillow in a threatening way in front of him.

Neither girl paid much attention to him. Elyse held an arm around his shoulders and kept him securely behind him. "You wouldn't dare sacrifice your own brother." Elyse challenged.

Ursula raised her left eyebrow, "You think?" She raised her pillow and ended up hitting Sirius right on the side of his head. Ursula tried unsuccessfully to hold back a laugh while Elyse didn't even try to hold anything back. His hair was not standing which every way. If it weren't for the light shinning off his silver eyes, Ursula could have easily mistaken him for James. Speaking of James…

"It's so on," Sirius growled.

Ursula was suddenly grabbed from behind and swung in a circle. James had grabbed her around the waist and started tickling her mercilessly.

"ELYSE!" Ursula screamed through her laughter.

But Elyse was in no condition to help; Sirius was doing the same for her. Through her squinted eyes, Elyse caught sight of the other boys starting to join them in the room. "BEN! REMUS! PETER! SAVE US!" She squealed.

"Fear not gentle lady!" Ben said with . "FOR GRYFFINDOR!" He shouted before he started attacking James with pillows. Remus and Peter started on Sirius and soon the two black haired boys were overpowered.

"RETREAT! RETREAT!" James ordered as he sprinted towards the door. Sirius quickly escaped from his attackers and he followed his best friend out of the door. The five others pursued after them, armed with pillows.

The pillow fight commenced in the large, spacious living room where sides were switched so often that it was impossible to tell who was winning for more than five minutes. Ursula and Ben would later claim victory, but Sirius and Elyse were quite sure they were the winners. Remus and James were positive that the others were mistaken and had taken too many hits to the head to realize they were the rightful winners and Peter was just glad that he made it out of the fight without any serious injury.

The next morning, Mrs. Potter never got a clear answer as to why her living room was covered in feathers and seven of her pillows were destroyed when she found them asleep on the floor.

* * *

There you go; tell me what you think. I really like this chapter because I think that is showcases a little bit of what was missing in the last book. It focused a bit on Elyse's emotional reaction to her visions, it has Dumbledore being philosophical, and it has the boys being boys and the girls being girls. I can't wait to hear what you guys think of it. It also revealed the first hint of my plan for the enigma that is Orion Black (who if you haven't noticed, hasn't had any lines so far). He is going to be an important character in this book and here on out. Just keep an eye out for him.

If you guys are interested, I'm thinking of writing a one-shot about Ursula's discovery of her father and her mother's infidelity. I was going to make that the beginning of his chapter but I decided to focus a little more on Elyse. If you guys are interested in reading something about that, let me know. I don't want to write something you guys have no interest in.

Thank you so much to everyone that has reviewed. Whether you are new to this story and you just read the first book or you have been with this since the very beginning, it is wonderful to hear your thoughts. I want so badly to tell you who the vision in the prologue is, but that won't be revealed until the end of this book or possibly the next one. But, anywho, thank you everyone that has read this story. Just seeing the views is a boost of confidence. Thank you so, so, so much.


	3. Park Adventures

"Remus….Remus, wake up."

Remus groaned and threw his blanket over his head and snuggled deeper into the perfection that was his bed at the Potter's. "Five more minutes." He groaned.

But Ben persisted, "Come on mate, Mr. Potter wants us in the kitchen by six and it's already quarter to."

Remus's eyes shot open as he looked at the clock. He half sat up and glared at his red headed friend, "Why, in the name of all that is good and holy, does he want us up?"

Ben just shrugged and went back to trying to wake up Peter. Remus practically rolled out of bed and went searching for a shirt to wear. He never went without wearing one; the scars on his chest were too embarrassing.

"Hey Remus, help me out here," Ben pleaded as he jumped up and down on Peter's bed, still unable to wake up the boy.

Remus sighed and motioned for Ben to get off the bed. Peter let out a particularly loud snore and Remus and Ben had to hold back their laughter. Remus walked forward and held onto the edge of the mattress. Using strength that his condition gave him, he flipped the bed with Peter still in it. The formerly sleeping boy screamed in terror in a particularly feminine yell.

James popped his head in, "Oi! You lot has to be quite! My dad doesn't want us waking up the girls."

The three of them looked apologetic, though Ben still looked like he was about to burst out laughing.

Ten minutes later, the boys were all standing in the kitchen in their pajamas in various degrees of awakeness. Sirius was swaying on his feet while Ben and James were wide awake. When Remus looked at Peter, it looked like the boy had actually fallen asleep on his feet. Just as James was about to say something, his dad appeared in the doorway in his sleeping robes.

"So boys, I'm sure you're all wondering why I got you up this morning?" He asked, looking at the five boys who all nodded.

"I've decided that it's time I taught you boys how to cook."

There was a beat of silence before Sirius started to laugh.

"That's funny Mr. Potter. Now why are we here?"

Mr. Potter's eyes danced as he regarded the boy he had accepted as another son. "To do exactly what I said. You boys need to know how to cook. At some point, you're going to be living without your mothers, without a wife if you don't get married right out of Hogwarts, and maybe without your sister." He said, giving a look at Sirius who had opened his mouth to argue. Sirius just smiled innocently.

James's dad shrugged as he moved around the kitchen to get out pans and ingredients, "Besides, you should always know how to cook breakfast for that special woman in your life."

James snorted, "I've never marrying anyone day. I'm going to be a bachelor my entire life."

"Then what is this I hear about Ursula becoming my daughter-in-law if about twenty years?" Mr. Potter challenged. James tried to act nonchalant but he could feel his cheeks flaming. The rest of the boys laughed at James being put in his place by his dad.

"Come on boys, let's get cooking." Mr. Potter said with a laugh as he threw aprons at the boys. "We need to make one meal for them before everyone leaves."

The boys put forth a valiant effort. James and Sirius carefully cut up the fruit while Ben and Remus carefully measured all the ingredients for the pancakes while Mr. Potter and Peter worked on making "Harold Potter's special homemade whipped cream" to put on top of the pancakes.

"Mr. Potter?" Sirius spoke up his knife cut halfway through the strawberry he was chopping up, slight panic threaded in his voice.

"Where did you cut yourself?" Mr. Potter asked as he walked over towards the boy.

Sirius shook his head mutely. He wasn't focusing on the fruit in front of him at all. His eyes were focused on the Daily Prophet tossed haphazardly on the counter that declared "MASS DEATHS" in bold letters with three pictures of three different families that was waving at the camera.

Mr. Potter followed his eyes and his own blue widened when he saw what Sirius saw. He hurried over and grabbed the paper and threw it in the garbage can.

The silence was deafening in the kitchen as all the boys had caught sight of the paper.

"Dad?" James asked, his eyes open wide in shock.

Mr. Potter suddenly looked his age as he sighed and leaned back against the counter. He rubbed his eyes under his glasses before looking at the boys with tired eyes. "There is nothing for you boys to fear. Your father," he said looking straight at Ben, "is doing everything in his power to stop these people. If there is any Minister that could handle this problem, it's Jay White."

"Who was it?" James asked.

Mr. Potter sighed again. He seemed to ignore his son when he spoke to Peter instead, "Add the vanilla Peter."

James was about to ask his dad the question again, "Da-"

"It was the Abbots, a muggle family, and Fortescue family."

"Gabe?" Remus asked Gabriel Abbot was the first person he and his friends inadvertently pranked the first day of Hogwarts. The shy boy was a little out there, but he was always kind to Remus and Ben and they would often study together in the library.

"What about Fortescue? Was it Florean?" Ben asked, recalling the ice cream maker in Diagon Alley.

Mr. Potter shook his head, "Gabe is perfectly fine. It was his aunt, uncle, and cousins that got killed. And it was Florean's nephew that got killed. He was sleeping in his bed when the Death Eaters attacked him."

"He never had a chance," Sirius whispered horrified. "Who did it?"

Mr. Potter shrugged, "They were wearing masks. No one has a clue who these people are and that is what makes them dangerous. It's not like last time," he muttered the last bit to himself.

"What do you mean last time?" James demanded. "There hasn't been any other Lord Voldemort while you've been alive."

"Son, this is not the time nor the place for this. We are making dinner for your mother, your friend, and your future wife –Merlin help the poor girl."

James sputtered indignantly while his friends laughed at him. He huffed and went back to cutting up the fruit a tad bit more violently than he had been doing before.

* * *

Two hours later Mrs. Potter walked into the girl's bedroom. She walked over some of the clothes and junk that had accumulated on the floor and opened the curtains to let in the morning sunlight. That didn't wake up the two sleeping Gryffindors. Elyse's eyes were frantically moving behind her eye lids and she was smiling widely at whatever she was dreaming.

"Elyse, it's time to get up," she said shaking the girl's shoulder a little. Elyse just started mumbling some jitterish that didn't make any sense.

Mrs. Potter tried her luck with Ursula. She reached down to shake her shoulder gently only to jump back when Ursula's eyes shot open. "I'm wake."

"I can see that," Mrs. Potter said, holding her hand to chest while she tried to get over the shock.

Ursula just smiled and reached over to her side table and grabbed her glasses. Once they were on she looked at Mrs. Potter. "What's on the agenda for today? Everyone else is leaving today right?"

While Ben, Elyse, Peter, and Remus were going to be going home after spending a week at the Potters so they could spend the last week before the start of the school year with their parents, the Black twins were told that they would be staying until the beginning of the term. To say the least, both twins were extremely grateful and felt the need to thank James's parents at every turn. Ursula had to say, for the first time in her life, she saw Sirius actually picking up after himself.

"Yes, Sweetheart, they'll be leaving later tonight. But I'm pretty sure that James has something planned for you all to do. But first it's time for breakfast." Mrs. Potter said while going back over to Elyse's bed to wake her up. Ursula swung her legs over the edge of her bed and grabbed her clothes that day before heading to the bathroom. Elyse was being stubborn and she was still sleeping.

"Mrs. Potter? Has James told you about Elyse's…eye problem?" she asked hesitantly, unsure of how to word it so that if she didn't know about the visions she couldn't figure it out.

Immediately Mrs. Potter's hazel eyes lit up in recognition. "Of course, it just slipped my mind. When she finally gets up, meet us down in the kitchen."

When Ursula got out of the bathroom, she found Elyse sitting in front of the vanity brushing her hair. The mirror was telling her to fix that curl and get something for the pimple on her chin. Her face flamed red under all her freckles at the last comment, which the mirror also commented on by telling her that she looked like a sunburned gnome. Ursula solved the problem by flipping the mirror so it faced the wall.

"Thanks fer 'hat," Elyse said, her embarrassment still causing her cheeks to flame red.

Five minutes later, the girls froze in the doorway to the kitchen. Standing around the island, their friends were looking proud at the arrangement of food that was on the counter. There was a stack of slightly undercooked pancakes, bacon strips, scrambled eggs, nine cups with fresh fruit smoothies, and a bowl full of what looked like some sort of minty green whipped cream.

"What did you do to the food?" Ursula asked as she cautiously walked forward, expecting the food to explode at any moment.

They all just smiled wider.

"Nothing if you don't count making it," Sirius said proudly.

Ursula raised an eyebrow, "You guys made all this? I have to say I'm impressed." She walked forward and grabbed one of the nine fruit smoothies off the counter and started filling her plate with the food. Once Elyse also made her plate, the boys quickly divvied up the rest.

As they sat around the large table with Mr. and Mrs. Potter (who were already eating) they were quite talkative.

"So what's on the agenda today?" Ben asked.

Before James could answer, Ursula groaned and she dipped her finger into the cool whip and ate it without spreading it on her pancakes. "This is bloody fantastic."

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Sirius mockingly chastised her. Her dignified response was to stick her tongue out at him.

"Well," James began, ignoring the Blacks' antics, "I was thinking that we go to the Muggle Park on the other side of town." He looked at his parents not for permission, but to see if he needed to sneak out or if he avoided that particular road bump.

His mother looked positively thrilled while his dad looked a little less certain.

"I think it would be a marvelous idea James. I need you to drop something off at Mrs. Cauldwell's house if you'll be on that side of town."

"I don't know, Eva," Mr. Potter said gravely, "with everything going on lately…"

She waved off her husband's worry with a wave of her hand, "I don't think that they'll be going after a group of kids in Godric's Hollow for Merlin's sake Harold."

The children watched the disagreement with rapt attention, not only to know if they could go, but to see if they could gather some more information that adults all deemed too scary for them to know.

"Alright, but they have to be back before four o'clock. We need time to repack the kids," he reminded her.

Once that was settled and breakfast was cleaned up (half cleared the table and put the leftover food away while the other half cleaned dishes) the septet started their trek through Godric's Hollow. They meandered down the street, talking of innocent topics once they got farther and farther on the more muggle populated part of town.

"So anyone else trying out for football this year?" James asked while walking backwards, winking at them when he mentioned the wrong sport.

Ursula rolled her eyes but nodded, "I think I'm going to try out for the same position as you this year. See how things work out."

James smiled widely and clapped her quite roughly on her shoulder, "That's brilliant Ursula!" He spent the rest of the walk trying to give Ursula tips for when she tried out. She listened to most of them, but when he started going on about how she should have her hair in braid versus in a ponytail, she started to block him out as they neared the park.

"Oi! Look it's weirdo Potter!" A kid shouted from the merry-go-round.

Instantly, all the Gryffindors turned to look at James to see how he would respond. To their utter shock, James seemed completely at ease and waved back at the boy, "Hello Devon, long time no see."

"Not long enough! Are your friends freaks like you?" Another boy shouted across the playground.

Sirius pulled his arm back and made to go punch one of the kid's lights out, but James put a hand on his shoulder, "I missed your lovely voice too Danny. How's your sister doing?" James called back in a amiable tone as he sat down on one of the swings.

Ben reached over and tapped Remus on the shoulder, "Can you believe this?" He whispered in his friends ear. Remus looked over at him and shook his head, surprised evident on his face. James would normally hex Slytherins for making a comment about his messy hair, yet here he was taking being called a freak and weirdo like it was nothing.

The two muggle boys seemed to get discouraged when they didn't get a rise out of James so they moved to the baseball field across the street from the park.

"What was that James?" Sirius asked in shock and outrage. Why had James held him back from getting back at those boys for calling them freaks?

James looked innocently up at his friend before laughing a bit. "Well, it's true isn't it? At least to them, I'm the biggest freak show in this entire half of town."

"Why would people know you on the muggle side of town?" Peter asked.

"My parents sent me to muggle school before Hogwarts," James explained. "They wanted to expose me to muggle culture or something like that. I sometimes used magic by accident at school. It was usually innocent stuff but it was a little weird. One time in class, I got really bored then out of no where, the kid's hair next to me started changing colors. Everyone just blamed me. Then we went out to recess and I started going up and down on the see-saw by myself. It wouldn't have been that bad except I was convinced I could see my house so I stopped it when I was at the top." James chuckled at the memory. "Just picture it; it freaked out a lot of kids."

"They weren't scared of your magic, it was your ugly mug," Ben said while he good-naturedly pushed James shoulder.

James laughed before nodding solemnly, "That was probably it. How could I have been so stupid to overlook that!" he fake chastised himself. He might have been taken seriously if it weren't for the fact that his eyes were sparkling with laughter and fun.

"You didn't have us to point it out to you," Remus said dryly. "The other kids were too scared to approach you."

James rolled his eyes, "Ha, ha, ha. You guys can keep on making fun of James. Pete and I will go be awesome somewhere else." James stood up from the swing and looked at Peter, "Ready to go?"

Peter looked thrilled with himself and tried to stand up so quickly he toppled over. James laughed and sat back down. "Nah, I'm just kidding. So Elyse, you've been unusually quiet."

The only muggle born in the group looked at James, unamused by the joke while the rest of the group laughed a little bit.

"Fine, I won't tell yeh the gist of teh vision I just had aboot yeh." She said sticking her nose up in the air.

That instantly got James's attention.

"What did you see?" He asked, anticipation in his voice.

She smiled wickedly, "I can't tell yeh."

He groaned and gave her puppy dog eyes, "Please just tell me the idea. Don't give specifics."

Elyse seemed to consider it a moment. If she didn't tell him exactly what she saw, when she saw it, and who was involved with him, she _technically_ wasn't breaking any of the rules.

"Alight. I saw yeh gettin ready fer an important event."

James looked downtrodden, "Come on, Leprechaun, you've got to give me more." She smirked and tapped her fourth finger on her right hand and James's mouth fell open in shock.

"You saw me when I'm about to get _married_!"

She nodded and eventually couldn't hold back her laughter. She, along with the rest of their friends, burst into laughter at the look of sheer disbelief on James's face.

"Do you know who I marry?"

She nodded.

"TELL ME!" He demanded. His eyes were wide, giving his a slightly deranged look. He ran his hand through his hair a couple of times before fixing his glasses on his nose.

"Can't."

"Please?"

"Nope."

"Please?"

"No, James."

A moment of silence.

"Will you tell me now?"

James yelped after he got hit by a well aimed twig Sirius threw at him.

"Is it against the law to want to know who I'm going to marry?" James almost growled at Sirius.

"Technically," Remus began dryly, "It is." Ursula and Ben chuckled but Sirius and James ignored them.

Sirius shrugged, "Considering it's almost certainty Ursula, I don't think you have a lot of wondering. I mean, what other girl would even consider marrying your bony, arrogant ass." Sirius scoffed.

"What's that supposed to mean!" James cried, frustration and wondering wrapped his cry. He ran his hands through his hair a couple more times, pulling at the roots a little more than usual.

"What ever you take it to mean."

"GAH! You're intolerable!"

Sirius bowed and when he stood back up, he said with a lazy smirk, "I try, it does take some practice."

"Oh sweet Merlin," Ben muttered as he watched the two black haired boys go at it against each other. Some things would never change.

* * *

_Sorry that this chapter took so long to get out! I've had a horrible case of writers block this week so I'm not entirely happy with this chapter, but it will have to do so we can get everyone back to Hogwarts. The one shot that I mentioned the last chapter is slowly being worked out since it also decided to be affected by writer's block. Thankfully, there is an idea floating in my head so now I just have to find it and actually get it onto paper. _

_Thank you to everyone that has reviewed the last few chapters. Trust me, I share some of your frustrations because I just want to whole story to be out there and to let you all in on everything, but that would ruin the whole story. This one is going to have to require some patients on your behalf but I promise that it will be worth it! I solemnly swear!  
_

_Don't forget to REVIEW!_


	4. And So It Begins

It was August 31st now. A week had passed since the rest of their friends left Godric's Hollow and James, Sirius, and Ursula were going stir crazy. They wanted to get back to Hogwarts, but the last week seemed the crawl by. They were sprawled about the living room; James was hanging upside down off the couch, Sirius was on lying on the floor, and Ursula was lounging on the love seat.

"James, let's do something," Sirius groaned from the floor.

James gave him a look of annoyance, which was comical since he was upside down, "What do you want me to do? It's about a million degrees outside, we already figured out our Sorting prank, my mom is currently making dinner so we can't leave, and Ursula just fell asleep, I think."

A pillow to the face was his answer. The force of the pillow wasn't much but it was enough to cause James to lose balance and join Sirius on the floor. He just grabbed the pillow and placed it under his head.

"Tell us a story Jamsie." Ursula taunted from the couch.

"Fine. Once upon a time, there was an annoying bloke that everyone hated name Joking White-"

"Oi!" shouted Sirius indignantly, but that just caused James to smirk and continue with more gusto.

"-and he attended Hogwarts. When he was just a wee little first year, he got sorted in Slytherin. He terrorized the school with his hideous looks and his greasy hair-"

"We're talking about Sirius here, not Snivellus," Ursula reminded him.

James just shrugged, "What's the difference?"

Ursula laughed while Sirius looked at his friend in outrage. James just continued the story. "So when we last left dear Joking behind, he was being a right prick. Then a valiant group of Gryffindors, led by the chivalrous, valiant Jamison Poller-"

Sirius snorted at the name James gave himself. James pointedly ignored it. "-decided that it was time to get rid of the evil Slytherin. So teamed up with Joking's gorgeous twin sister," James winked at Ursula who just laughed, "and they defeated the evil wizard and everyone live happily ever after."

"Except until I come back as a ghost and haunt all you gits to eternity, especially when I team up with Peeves."

James was just about to respond when Mrs. Potter walked into the living room. If she found anything odd about their seating arrangements, she didn't show any indication. "Alright boys, up to your room to change into something nice. Your father is taking you boys out to dinner. Hurry up."

"What about me?" Ursula asked as she sat up.

Mrs. Potter smiled kindly at her, "I thought it would be nice to have a girls night; just you and me. But if you want to go with the boys-"

"Girls night sounds wonderful." Ursula quickly assured her. Mrs. Potter barely hid her smile.

Two hours later, Ursula was helping herself to some of the perfection that was also known as chocolate mousse cake. The house, for the first time in two weeks, was silent and Ursula realized just how much she missed just being around other girls.

"Tell me dear, are you excited to be starting your third year?" Mrs. Potter asked her.

Ursula shrugged, "I don't know. It'll be just like any other year I guess."

"You know, it was my third year when I met Harold. It was actually Alphard that introduced us."

"Wait a second," Ursula's fork paused halfway to her mouth, "James said that both you and Mr. Potter were in Gryffindor."

Mrs. Potter laughed, her hazel eyes twinkling much like her son's when he was being genuine, "Sweetheart, I'm sure James would have told you our _cat_ was in Gryffindor when he was eleven."

Ursula raised an eyebrow, "So what house were you in?" She asked as she ate another piece of cake.

The older woman nonchalantly shrugged right before she said, "Slytherin."

Ursula almost immediately started choking on her cake. Her eyes were watering and her throat felt like it was on fire when she gulped down the rest of her drink, "WHAT?"

Her answer was laughter, "Dear, I was joking! I was in Hufflepuff." She quickly assured.

Ursula was visibly relieved, "Thank Merlin. You had me really worried for a second."

"I'm surprised you believed me! Alphard always tells me that I would make the worst Slytherin in the history of Hogwarts. He always liked to tease Harold and tell him that he found a Ravenpuff because according to him, I belonged in Ravenclaw. Harold said he found a Huffleclaw."

Ursula smiled when Mrs. Potter got a nostalgic look on her face. She looked much younger than her advanced age and it held so much love and care for the two men she was talking about that it made Ursula feel loved just by sitting next to her.

"Did you know Mr. Potter was the one when you first met him?" Ursula asked, curiously.

Mrs. Potter took a moment to think about that, "I don't think I knew I was going to marry him, "she began slowly, "but I knew he was going to change my entire world."

She shook her head and seemed to refocus back on the black haired girl in front of her, "One day, you'll find someone that treats you like a Queen, as will Elyse. Then James, Sirius, Ben, and Remus will find women that can handle their antics and love them for being them. Trust me," she added when she saw Ursula's disbelieving face.

"What about Peter?" Ursula asked when she realized Mrs. Potter forgot one of her friends.

She simply shrugged, "He idolizes my son too much to ever find a girl." She winked at Ursula. Ursula could only laugh.

"If you're done with your desert, I'll take your plate." Mrs. Potter said. Ursula stuffed the last bit of her cake in her mouth before she offered the empty plate.

Mrs. Potter stood up and took the plates into the kitchen. Ursula took that moment to run her hand through her hair, trying to tame some of the curls. It had been extremely humid that day and that meant that her curls became untamable. It also made her look too much like her least favorite cousin Bellatrix for her liking.

She grabbed a hair tie from her wrist and started to pull it up into a ponytail, but the hair tie snapped when she started to put her hair through it.

"Dammit," She swore under her breath. She tried pulling her thick hair into a bun but that was also a failure. If only Elyse was there- she always helped Ursula with her hair when it got stubborn.

Mrs. Potter walked back into the room and saw Ursula struggling with her hair. She watched a moment before she walked behind her and started running her hand through Ursula's thick, dark curls, combing out the knots. Ursula's hands stopped running through her hair almost immediately.

"My little sister used to have hair just like yours," Mrs. Potter said softly, "I had to braid it for her every morning growing up."

Ursula noticed the sad tone to her voice. Something had happened. "Would you mind, Mrs. Potter?" Ursula asked tentatively.

"Not at all dear." She gently started braiding Ursula's hair and the young girl was almost lulled to sleep by the gentleness of it. A warm feeling swept through her as she realized that she had found the mother that she had always dreamed of having as a little girl. Her own mother would give her a cold look if she ever asked for her to braid her hair (that was even before she got sorted into Gryffindor) but here she was, sitting in her best friend's dining room while his mom braided her hair like Ursula was her daughter.

The house was at perfect peace. That is, until a popping sound of someone apparating broke the peace. Then all hell in the form of Sirius and James excited to start Hogwarts broke loose. But even as Mrs. Potter finished up her hair as the boys tried to tell a story about a cat, a broom, and a drunk wizard they saw, Ursula realized that she could never wish for anything more.

* * *

"Mom! I'm goin' teh be late!" Elyse shouted back to her mother who was trying to keep up with her daughter. They had less than then minutes to say goodbye on the muggle side of the platform, get Elyse on the other side, her trunk put away, and her on the train. They were cutting it extremely close.

"Wait fwor me!" Sean shouted, running as fast as his little toddler legs would go.

"Where's the fire?" A voice called out at Elyse and she practically sagged with relief. Leaning against the opposite entrance to Platform nine and three quarters was none other than James Potter.

"James, is-"

He nodded and cut her off before she could finished, "Everyone is already in the compartment. We figured you were running late so I'll take your stuff to the train while you say goodbye to your family, alright?" He asked the frazzled muggleborn.

Elyse nodded and threw her arms around James's neck and gave him a quick kiss on the check, "James, I bloody love yeh!"

He smirked, "Who doesn't love me?" he asked cheekily before he took control of her cart and disappeared into the barrier.

"Elyse, where's yeh's stuff?" Her father asked her as he caught up to her.

"A friend took it. They's realized I was runnin' late." She explained.

Thomas O'Brian quickly gathered his daughter into a hug, "I love yeh Iníon." He whispered.

"Love yeh too." She assured him.

He ruffled her hair before he let her go. She barely had a chance to breathe before her mother grabbed her in a vice-grip hug. "Me Cailín Leanbh! Write teh us after yeh get back teh yeh's dorm, yeh hear?" Colleen O'Brian asked with tears swelling in her blue eyes.

"I promise, Mama. I've got teh go," she said as she kissed her little brothers on the tops of their heads. They waved goodbye to her as she disappeared through the barrier. She was looking behind her so she ran right smack dab into James, who was still standing there with all of her stuff. His eyes were wide and he wasn't moving at all except for his chest as he took quick shallow breaths.

"James! Woot's wrong?" She demanded, placing a hand on his shoulder.

He didn't even spare a glance at her. "Who is that?" He asked; his eyes still full wide with wonder and awe. He looked like a man who had seen the light after years of being shut in the dark.

"Who?" She asked.

"There," he raised his hand and pointed at a girl climbing onto the Hogwarts Express.

Elyse squinted as she tried to see the person's face. Chance would have it that the girl turned around to pick up a book she dropped. The second that Elyse saw her, she knew who it was. Holding back a laugh.

"Teh girl wit teh red hair?" She taunted James.

James didn't pick up on it; he was too starstruck. He just numbly nodded.

"That's Lily Evans." She told him.

His head snapped to look at Elyse so fast she was surprised that he didn't give himself whiplash, "That's Evans?" He tried to softly screech. When Elyse nodded, he ran his hand through his hair a couple times while looking back at the train, "Bloody hell," he whispered under his breath when Lily finally disappeared.

"Um, James, teh train's about teh leave." Elyse nudged his shoulder to try to get him to move.

He seemed to snap out of it and he quickly helped her get her stuff on the train. Once they had her trunk loaded, they went to the compartment that they had claimed since first year.

"So, Lily Evans huh?" She asked with a mischievous smile on her face. James turned around and gave her a look of attempted indifference, "I don't know what you're talking about. Here we are," As he disappeared into the compartment, Elyse couldn't help but notice how red the tips of James's ears were.

Ursula also noticed James's behavior and Elyse's smug grin. "What happened? Did you meet a pretty girl, Jaimsie?" She taunted him, reaching over Remus and pinching James's cheeks.

He swatted her away and scoffed, "You wish."

Elyse inwardly smirked.

_And so it begins._

* * *

_Hey guys, if you couldn't tell, about halfway through this chapter I finally got back into my grove! It is a marvelous feeling, over coming writer's block- let me tell you. I still want to apologize a little bit for the last chapter but I think that this chapter makes up a for it. While this chapter focused a little more on Ursula and then James, I promise to all the Elyse lovers out there who thought they were getting a whole book about her, just hang in there, she will be back in the spot light soon enough. It seems like the writing muses are demanding me to make Elyse a vital part of what I write because when I try to go a little bit away, writer's block hits. Things will go back to focus majorly on Elyse and I also think a bit of James is going to be included in this one. Definitely more Lily- she's going to be a main player from here on out I think.  
_

_The one-shot about Ursula is in progress, in case you guys wanted to know about that. It should be up by the end of this week. I'll let you guys know more specifically when after I post another chapter.  
_

_Thank you to everyone that has reviewed. I feel the need to thank you guys again after each chapter because it is your reviews and encouragement that keep me writing and battling writer's block. You guys helped me get out of this funk and I am grateful because I felt like I was going crazy when I couldn't write anything. So once again, thank you.  
_

_DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW THIS CHAPTER!  
_


	5. Irony in it's Truest Form

_So I just realized that I never did a disclaimer for this story. Opps. _

_Here it goes: I do not own Harry Potter. Never have. Never will._

* * *

They had just walked into the Entrance Hall when it happened. In the hustle and bustle of hundreds of students trying to get through one set of double doors, Lily Evans was knocked over from the side. Elyse watched as James's eyes widened and he started to speed walk to get to her but he suddenly froze. A fourth year Ravenclaw and bent down to help Lily pick up her dropped things along with Alice and Marlene. Lily smiled at the boy.

"Oi! Evans!" James shouted out to her.

She spun around and her smile turned to a frown. She jutted out her hip and looked at James with distain, "What do you want Potter?"

"Go out with me," James said.

Everyone in the general area stopped talking to look at James and Lily. James had a charming debonair smile on his face while Lily looked absolutely and positively stunned.

"What?" She asked, shock brightly coloring her words.

James just smiled cockier, "You heard me, but you're probably in shock. That's quite alright my dear. I'll repeat myself forever for you; go out with me."

The look on her face was murderous. She closed her eyes and one could see her silently counting backwards from ten.

"You have bullied my best friend for the last two years; you're an arrogant toe rag. Do you really think that I would ever, in a million years go out with you?"

James shrugged, "Yeah. So Evans, what do you say? First Hogsmeade trip of the year is in a couple months," he offered.

The two thirteen year olds' friends were having just as different a reaction as their two friends were. All of Lily's friends (minus Ursula and Elyse) were looking at James with contempt while James's friends could barely contain their laughter.

"I'll go out with you when Hell freezes over."

Suddenly, everything became unfocused and Elyse felt herself falling. She closed her eyes and tried to control the nauseous feeling that was settling in the pit of her stomach. If there was one thing that Elyse absolutely hated was being thrown unexpectedly into a vision.

"_I see hell has frozen over."_

_Three men were sitting in a medium sized room. Hanging on the walls were Puddlemere United pictures, a signed picture of a teenage James standing with an elderly woman named Jocelind Wadcock (if Elyse read the name correctly) in front of Bodmin Moor Millenium Stadium, pictures of the gang spanning well into their future at Hogwarts, some pictures of James's parents, an Auror recruitment poster, and some broom advertisements. They were definitely in James's childhood room._

_James looked away from the mirror to regard Remus who was casually leaning up against the opposite wall. Pure joy was the only emotion in James's eyes in that moment. "Moony, how the hell do you remember that?" he asked with a laugh._

_Remus shrugged but a smile was tugging on his lips, "Everyone remembers what happened the first time you asked Lily out. They may've forgotten the other six billion times, but when you asked her but the first time it was quite…memorable." Remus teased._

_James rolled his eyes and threw the hairbrush he was using to try to tame his hair onto the bed, "That may not have been my finest hour, but you have to admit, I was bloody brilliant when I asked her to marry me."_

_The door flew open and an adult Sirius walked in. James's smile practically doubled when he saw Sirius. "Padfoot! You beautiful bastard! I thought you were playing rookie!" He said as he embraced his best friend. Once he let go, James walked over to his bed to get the hairbrush and he continued to try to fix his hair._

_Sirius rolled his eyes and threw a white lily at James, "Did you think that I would miss this? I'm the bloody best man- someone has to catch you when you pass out at the altar."_

_James laughed and reached over to mess up Sirius's hair. Sirius swatted his hand away and he collapsed onto the other bed. _

"_Where are the others?" Remus asked._

"_King is getting Lily's parents situated before he heads up here. Wormtail's running around trying to steal cheese from the caterers." Sirius couldn't hide his smirk._

_All three boys snorted, knowing their friend. _

_James had just pinned the lily to the front of his jet black dress robes. Sirius and Remus already had theirs on; red and gold respectively. _

"_What about the girls?" James asked, "Did you see my Lily-Flower?" James asked, some nerves creeping into voice._

_Sirius opened his mouth but the question was answered by a fourth man at the door, "At last report, Lily was about to storm up here, grab you, and apparate to the Ministry to sign the marriage certificate."_

_James physically gained more confidence, "That's my Lily; not that I wouldn't mind getting married already."_

_Sirius snorted, "What, can't wait for tonight?"_

"_You know it," James said lewdly, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Sirius laughed while Ben and Remus rolled their eyes at their friend's immaturity._

"_How about the other girls? How are they holding up?" Sirius asked, sadness creeping into his voice._

_The atmosphere severely dampened in the room. They all became silent and oddly somber. Ben took a shaky breath before he answered. "As well as to be expected."_

_James shook his head and ran his hand through his hair, messing it up even more, "I still can't believe it. I didn't realize today would be this hard." He said as he practically fell onto his bed, kind of ungracefully, with tears in his eyes._

"_I know, Prongs." Sirius put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed softly, letting him know he was there for him while he too had tears swimming in his silver eyes._

"_I mean, I always expected her to be standing up there with me when I got married. The only thing that changed was where she was standing."_

_Ben cleared his throat and wiped his eyes. "How about a toast?" He suggested._

_James nodded sadly and waved his wand at his dresser. A bottle of muggle wine and six glasses zoomed in front of him. _

"_Summon Wormtail; he's a rat right now." Ben whispered to Remus. After a quick accio, Peter was standing among them, looking disheveled. None the less, he grabbed a flute of whine._

_James raised his glass and the rest of the boys quickly followed suit, "To the best damn friend, who is still here in spirit and hair color," there was a snort of laughter, "who was taken well before her time by this bloody war. Knowing her, she would have told us to stop being a bunch of sissys and to man up if she saw us right now, but that's why we all love her. She was there for us through thick and thin; full moon to no moon. She will never be forgotten. To-"_

"WOOT TEH HELL!" Elyse shouted as she was rugby tackled to the ground and literally had the breath knocked out of her.

A flash of red grunted above her and while the Ben rolled off her, he remained in a protective stance in front of her. She groaned in frustration and hit her fist against the floor; she wanted to know who they were talking about.

"Are you okay? You didn't get hit too?" Remus was suddenly kneeling next to her, his hands on her shoulders and he helped her sit up. His eyes scanned her body to see if there was any visual mark on her. Elyse shook her head and looked around. Snape's robes were billowing away while Sirius, James, and Ursula were led away by Slughorn, none of them looking sheepish the least bit. Peeves was flying around, reveling in the chaos that had apparently ensued.

"Too?" She asked, rubbing her head.

Remus's eyes flashed a moment to Ben, who was wincing as he placed pressure on his left leg. Elyse scrambled from the ground and she placed a hand on Ben's shoulder, "Woot 'appened?"

Ben shrugged, wincing a little, "Hexes were flying everywhere and you were in the middle of a vision. It was either let you get hit or knock you over."

"But yeh's got hurt, though." Elyse said worriedly. To be honest, she felt a bit guilty that Ben was hurt because of her. He was now slowly walking with the help of Remus into the Great Hall. He bit his lip when they got to the table and he went to sit down.

"Any one of you would have done the same for me," Ben asserted.

Elyse opened her mouth to argue when the Great Hall doors opened and a double line of first years entered the hall. Their expressions were one of wonder and they all looked terrified. Their eyes nervously darted around the hall as they tried to take everything. More than one of them had their necks bent all the way back as they stared at the ceiling, which was twinkling with stars.

The hat opened its mouth and practically every first year's jaw fell to the ground.

_Fifty scores ago, the four Founders set me one simple task_

_To be completed once they have gone_

_For what you may ask?_

_To do what they have done._

_Sort the students by their ability; their strengths_

_To Gryffindor, Godric was not unclear_

"_Send me the ones that with go through great lengths_

_To save to ones they hold dear"_

_For Ravenclaw, Rowena claimed_

"_To me, those of great wit and intelligence_

_Shall be revered and treasured" _

_Young Salazar wished to avoid recklessness_

"_Send me the ones with pureblood_

_Who are cunning beyond peer's measure"_

_Then sweet Helga said_

"_Send me those who may not be as cunning, brave, or clever_

_Give me the rest and I shall keep their minds fed"_

_But now as darkness rises outside the castle walls_

_Our unity inside is key_

_To defeat the darkness that plagues us all_

_I ask you to not simply be_

_But listen closely to my warning; I am more than just a hat_

_The evil will not be defeated by just the clever, cunning, loyal, or brave_

_It will take much more than that_

_Unite together_

_For the cunning working with the brave can be unstoppable_

_And the honest and loyal working with the strategic and creative would be almost better_

_Combined, all of you would be more than able_

_To bring upon the end of this carnage_

_If you treat each other not as enemies but as kin_

_And bring us out of this hate filled time and into a new age _

_Now let the sorting begin!_

There was tentative clapping. Everyone was eyeing the hat with unease in their eyes. Even the professors looked unsettled at the Sorting Hat's song. Elyse remembered the last two years it had been light and slightly carefree, but now it was warning of danger outside of the walls of the castle and working together with the other houses. Elyse fancied a chance look at the Slytherin table and they all looked as mean as they had the last two years.

McGonagall called the first name, "Allington, Carter," and he became the first new Ravenclaw.

"Scoot over," a female voice whispered in Elyse's ear. Elyse scooted over a seat as the Hufflepuff cheered for its first.

"Where were you?" Ben asked James, Sirius, and Ursula. The three of them had snuck into the room undetected and they seemed to be in high spirits.

"Slughorn actually offered us invitations to the Slugclub." James said softly to his friends.

Ben's and Remus's eyebrows went up. "The Slugclub? Annabelle told me about that. It's only supposed to be for fifth years and up." Ben said.

Sirius shrugged and Ursula decided to explain, "He said that we displayed an impressive knowledge of magic. He said that he wished that we could have been in his house, said that he had some connections to help advance ourselves once out of Hogwarts, and that he would introduce us to those connections at his little parties."

Remus laughed at the looks on their faces, "I take it you didn't accept."

"Hell no!" Sirius exclaimed. Thankfully a Wellington, Kyle had just been sorted into Gryffindor so the whole table broke out into raucous applause, effectively covering up Sirius's shout. None the less, Ursula smacked her brother on the head.

"Woot 'appened?" Elyse asked, still wondering what happened when she was having a vision.

Quickly, Ursula filled her in. Apparently, right after Elyse started having a vision; Snape showed up and started insulting James, calling him a lazy bastard. James, being himself, took offense to that and shot a laughing hex at Snape. Snape retaliated and threw a punching hex at James (which explained the growing bruise on his chin) which caused Sirius to get pulled into it. Sirius got hit with a jelly-legs jinx so Ursula stepped up for him and dueled a group of third and fourth year Slytherins. Slughorn had just shown up when Ursula and James successfully disarmed all the Slytherins. He ordered them all to give back their wands before they went with him. Apparently, one of the Slytherins decided to hex Elyse (who was just dumbly standing right on the edge with a blank look on her face) so Ben jumped in front of her. He took the stinging hex the Slytherin sent her way without a second thought. The cowardly Slytherins scattered when they realized that they just hexed the Minister's son.

"Damn, yeh's really know how teh get in trouble," Elyse said with a whistle.

During the story, the rest of the first years had been sorted. Before any of her friends were able to say anything else, Dumbledore stood in front of all the students.

"I am sure we all want to dig in. So I will keep this brief. Impigrous, jannock, kench. Dig in."

"Here, here!" James and Sirius declared, rousing a laugh from the surrounding students before they started to devour their meals.

"James, were you able to set-" Ben asked, trying to be quiet in the loud dining hall.

James nodded his head, "The second Dumbledore finishes his back to school announcements, just do as I said and everything will work out perfectly."'

They never doubted James's vast knowledge before and they didn't doubt him that time. They kept their topics innocent, but occasionally, one of them would look up at Dumbledore to see if he would give his announcements yet.

After what felt like an eternity, Dumbledore stood in front of the golden owl and opened his arms wide as if to embrace everyone in the hall.

"Now that our stomachs are filled and our minds calmed, I have a few announcements. First off, the Forbidden Forest is, as its name suggests, is forbidden to all students. I also must tell all the students that they must avoid the Whomping Willow at all costs. It is a newer tree and it is not used to being around so many curious students."

Chuckles arose from the Hufflepuff table. Elyse vaguely remembered hearing in the hospital wing when she was sick last term that there was a Hufflepuff boy that got a little too close to the tree and almost had to get his eye removed. The humor arose from the fact that right before getting hit, the Hufflepuff called it a stupid little tree that couldn't even hurt a gnat.

"I would also like to welcome our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Professor Clarke. She has graciously given up her position at the Ministry to join our staff. Please join me in welcoming her." Dumbledore gestured towards a woman sitting next to McGonagall. She stood up and bowed slightly to the students tipped her hat. She was kind enough looking, Elyse thought. She was maybe in her early thirties, had brown hair pulled into a messy bun, and she wore a pale blue summer robe. That caused her to stick out from the other teachers, who were all in their best dress robes.

"Think she's a Death Eater?" Sirius asked sarcastically.

They all turned to look at her. Flitwick, who was sitting on her other side, said something to her that caused her to spit out the pumpkin juice and spray it all over a few first years who were too close to her. She dissolved into a fight of laughter, almost falling off her chair.

"Definitely evil." Remus said sarcastically.

James nodded in agreement, "We'll have to keep an eye on her for sure."

Dumbledore continued his speech, his eyes twinkling a little but brighter than before. "Before everyone heads back to their dorms, I would like to remind any students who have a certain affinity for rule breaking," Dumbledore paused to look at them a moment, "please check the list outside of Mr. Filch's office for the list of three hundred twenty-five banned objects. Now off you go." He waved his hands.

Before the prefects even had the chance to stand up and beckon the first years towards them, streams of goo fell from the ceiling, splattering all over the first years and anyone who was unfortunately sitting too close to them in one of their two house colors.

There was a beat of silence before Lily's enraged screech (she had been sitting between two first years and was now covered in both red and gold goo) carried over the entire hall.

"POTTER!"

* * *

_I want to first apologize that this kind of took a long time to get out. I have found that I get stuck, get a stroke of genius, write, and then get stuck again. It's a cycle that while it does kind of suck, it seems to be turning out some really good results. _

_The Sorting Hat song was actually something that I wrote. I hope that it seemed believable and you liked it. It was actually really fun to write and I'm kind of looking forward to writing more for the beginning of each year. Tell me what you think of it so I can make improvements to it. Also, in case you were wondering, those three words Dumbledore said are actually real words. Just google them and you should find them somewhere. If you can't, just ask and I'll tell you.  
_

_Last thing! **A new one-shot is up**! It is called Just Water. Please go check it out and tell me what you think! I would love to hear back on not just this story, but anything else too! The reviews keep me writing and inspired. So thank you to everyone that has reviewed. I really appreciate it. But there are definately WAY more people reading this story than reviewing. It's kind of a big gap between the numbers and I would love to see that change. Either way, you are all wonderful even if you are just reading this story, especially because you read this entire author's not. so kudos to you.  
_

___****____****__REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!_


	6. How to Begin

_I'm going to keep this one short. I don't own Harry Potter. New One-shot is up; check it out. Please Review. That's all. Now please enjoy the next installment in A Black and White Story: Book Two._

* * *

An hour after the feast, Ursula was changing into her Hogwarts robes when she heard a crinkle coming from her pocket. She finished dressing in her summer nightdress before discreetly pulling out the piece of paper and reading it.

_Common room- 2 a.m._

Ursula looked at it a moment, instantly recognizing the writing as James's. She stuffed it in her pocket and spared a questioning glance at Elyse.

'What?' Elyse mouthed to her, hiding from her roommates who were dancing around the room, trying to get everything back to the way it was at the end of last year.

'Pocket,' Ursula mouthed back.

Elyse nodded once discreetly. At that moment, Lily came out of the shower; she had been in there the last forty minutes. Half of her face was still spattered gold and the other half was crimson red. The colors clashed horribly with her hair and her eyes. Alice giggled at her, not even trying to hide it like Marlene was. Lily was not amused.

"Honestly, stupid Potter and his stupid friends! This isn't funny, the arrogant toe rags!" She said.

Ursula rolled her eyes, "Thanks for the love Lils. It's nice to know how you really feel."

Lily threw her towel at her and said, "You know I don't mean you, or Elyse. It's just Potter and Black. Honestly, why do you, Ben, Pettigrew, and Remus hang around those fools?"

"Well for one, one of them is my brother," Ursula pointed out. "Then secondly, James has never given me a real reason to doubt his sincerity. Sure he acts like a right prat sometimes, but that's who he is. Besides, you have to admit, that was some pretty impressive potions magic that he orchestrated."

The anger ebbed away from Lily's face, "Potions?"

Elyse nodded, "He was brewin' 'hat potion all summer; we just 'elped toward teh end ov it. He based it oof ov sometin he found in 'his year's potion book."

Lily looked impressed for a moment before she saw herself in the mirror again. She groaned and fell dramatically onto her bed, "When will this blasted color wear off!" She cried.

Ursula and Elyse looked at each other for a moment. Then they both moved, Elyse under the pretense to get her wand but really to check her pockets, and Ursula to get her wand and to say to counter charm.

"He made sure it was a potion that could be undone with a simple spell," Ursula explained. "He didn't want anyone caught in the line of fire to get it too, just the first years."

Once Lily was returned to her natural color, she along with Alice and Marlene closed the drapes around their beds and fell asleep. Elyse looked at Ursula and motioned to her pocket and nodded. They both fell into a light sleep a couple minutes later with the same question burning in their minds.

_What did James want? _

At two in the morning Ursula's wand started to glow brightly, going off at the time she set it. Uncle Alphard had taught her that trick last Christmas and she found it extremely useful. Still, she was not meant to wake up at two in the morning. She groggily grabbed her wand, effectively estinguishing the light, and got out of bed. She put on her glasses before she grabbed her bathrobe and slipped on her slippers before she softly walked over to Elyse's bed.

"Psst, Elyse," She whispered, shaking her friend's shoulder. Although she tried to be quiet, it sounded like she was shouting in the silent room. Grumbling softly, Elyse joined her in the land of the awake.

They boys had beaten them into the common room. They didn't look much more awake than the girls; James's hair was sticking up more than usual, Sirius looked like he was hungover, Ben's eyes kept on opening and closing at odd intervals as he tried to stay awake, and Peter was yawning every five seconds.

"Brilliant, we were about to send some little paper planes to wake you both up," Sirius informed them.

"We're here now. What's this about?" Ursula asked as she sat down near the fire.

James pulled some papers out of his bathrobe's pocket. "I have a question for each of you first off." He paused a moment and looked at them all seriously. They all tried to shake the tiredness and focus on what he was saying.

"I need to make sure you guys are all serious about this animagus thing. If we want to help Moony, we are going to have to start working on this and fast. This takes years for adult wizards to do, so this isn't going to be a walk in the park. Once you start the process, it is hard to stop without any damage."

"But what if we get caught!" Peter squeaked.

James smiled roguishly, "That's the thrill of it!"

"I'm in," Ben spoke up, folding his arms across his chest resolutely.

"Me too." Ursula and Sirius said at the same time. They smile at each other across the circle they had formed and fist bumped.

"Me three," Elyse agreed. Sirius, who was sitting next to her, threw his arm around her shoulder and gave her a half hug. In the dim light, no one noticed the bright red blush that spread across her face.

Peter was still hesitant, however. James sighed annoyed, "Peter, come on. I mean if the bloody Minster of Magic's son is doing this, then you can too."

There was one more moment of hesitation before Peter nodded. James smiled brilliantly at the rest of his friends. "Now that that is settled, we need to move into the logistics. There are seven animagus that have registered in the last seventy odd years. Now I know this doesn't really go into detail about what they did, but part of the process is the mental preparation. And to register for the ministry, you have to write a bunch of self-reflection papers on how you prepared. Don't ask how I got them, but I have all seven." He passed around the stack of papers, each person grabbing the one on top.

Ursula looked down at the paper she got and saw the face of a beautiful young girl. Her identification picture was paper clipped to the top of her report. She looked oddly familiar, in an annoyingly frustrating way. Ursula almost choked on her spit when she saw the name on top; Minerva McGonagall.

They all got so immersed in their reading (they would switch reports when they finished one) that they didn't realize the time until the first rays of the morning sunlight shone through the Tower's windows.

"Shit," James swore and he quickly gathered up the papers and put them back into his pocket. They quickly dispersed, running up to their rooms so their roommates wouldn't suspect anything.

It was only two hours later when they all trudged into the Great Hall. While it was a weekend and they weren't normally required to attend breakfast, they still had to go to get their schedules for the school year.

"What's wrong with you lot?" Remus asked when they walked in. "You look like a horde of zombies." He said dryly.

"Shut up or I'll eat your brain," Sirius said before he helped himself to a large stack of waffles.

Ursula didn't even have the energy to lift her head from the table. She had honestly never been that tired before. Ben was in a similar state to her but he helped himself to a large cup of tea and was slowly but surely waking up.

"Did you guys not sleep or something?" Remus asked with concern in his eyes. James's eyes were unfocused and bleary behind his glasses. Peter was snoring into a bowl of oatmeal. Ursula was eating extremely slowly. Elyse was spreading butter on a banana. Ben was staring off into space with dark bags underneath his eyes.

"Nah, we got a full night's sleep, couldn't you tell?" Sirius harshly asked.

Remus flushed red. Ursula reached over and smacked Sirius on the back on the head, mumbling something about not being rude.

"Oi! Potter!" A voice shouted a little down the table.

James looked over with groggy eyes, "Wuzyouwant?" He slurred.

Jacob Spinnet looked amused at James's obvious tiredness. "I got Quidditch Captain this year. Try-outs for Quidditch are going to be next Thursday. I want to get the team back together as soon as possible."

A few of them instantly perked up when they heard the word Quidditch. James's eyes were now gleaming with excitement, "Is the entire team retrying out?" He questioned.

"Officially, yes. Unofficially, I am just looking for a chaser to replace Frank." He said to James but then he addressed the rest of them, "If any of you are interested, just bring a broom and be prepared for hell. We lost the Cup last year because we weren't prepared for the length of the game. Practices are going to be longer and harder than last year."

Instead of looking discouraged or upset, James looked even more thrilled at the prospect. It looked like his dreams had come true in the form of longer Quidditch practices.

Jacob looked at the group and he looked concerned at Peter. He jabbed his thumb in his direction, "Is he okay?" The friends shrugged and Jacob reached over and rapped his knuckles on the wood table next to the sleeping boy, but he was out cold. Jacob shrugged and then he saw Ben.

He smiled widely, "You're Annabelle's kid brother aren't you? She was a phenomenal chaser, is the skill genetic?"

Ben shook his head, "I'm not that much of a Quidditch player, sorry."

The Quidditch captain deflated a bit but tried to play it off, "Eh, to each his own," He turned back to James, "but I better see you at tryouts James."

The second Jacob left, the friends all turned to look at Ben. He tried to not squirm under their intense looks. Finally he couldn't handle it anymore. "Alright, I'll bite. What's with the looks?"

"You bloody love Quidditch!" James exclaimed. "Now all of a sudden you 'not much of a Quidditch player'? You've played in games at my house! You're bloody fantastic!"

Ben shrugged, "I love Quidditch, that's not a lie-"

"Then why did you just lie?" Sirius asked accusingly.

"You guys wouldn't understand." Ben tried to argue.

"Try us," James challenged.

"None of you guys have older sisters! Don't even say it Sirius; Ursula's like four minutes older than you or something like that. No, I'm talking about sisters that are years older."

"What does Annabelle have to do with any of this?" Remus asked.

Ben sighed, "Guys, Quidditch has always been Annabelle's thing; not mine. I don't want to make the team just because she's my older sister. Besides I'm always compared to her already; why would I put myself where people would compare us even more? I can barely handle it already because it looks like I'm already just stumbling around after her. I mean, think about it, Gryffindor- check, ginger- check, prankster- check, above average at Transfiguration and Defense- check. Adding Quidditch to that list, especially the same position would be too much."

James shook his head, "Merlin, mate, I never knew you felt like that." He said in a surprised and awed tone.

Ben just shook his head and stabbed the sausage on his plate with a little too much force before he said, "That's why I don't want to play Quidditch. People would think I'm just doing it because of Annabelle and I don't want that."

Once again, James shook his head but this time with more vigor, "None of us compare you to your sister, or your dad for that matter."

Ben hung his head a little, his gusto gone, "I know that. It's just that I need to forge my own path, away from Annabelle's and my dad's and for me, that means no Quidditch."

Ursula was about to say something when McGonagall descended upon them. She raised her eyebrows as she look in their obvious exhaustion but other than that, she kept her stoic look.

"Your schedules have all been approved for this term," she informed them as she handed them the papers. She paused slightly when she got to James's, "I must remind you Mr. Potter, that you have detention with me at seven o'clock tonight." That had been their punishment (they had got caught quite quickly) for their prank. They all each had a week of detention but they had to serve it with different teachers.

James smiled charmingly at her, "Why Minnie, I know you had to be impressed with out little prank yesterday. Come on, from one Gryffie to another-"

"Be at my office on time or you will have more than a week of detention," she cut him off, giving him a look that clearly said she was not amused.

Ursula rolled her eyes when McGonagall walked away. "Honestly James, it's like you want to antagonize her."

James just smiled, "She loves me. You can tell."

"Really?" Elyse challenged.

James sat straight up and smirked confidently, "Yeah."

"How can yeh tell?"

"Easy," James said, "She didn't correct me when I called her Minnie."

Elyse was just about dying as James said that. What James hadn't noticed during the conversation was that McGonagall had been standing right behind him with a clearly unamused expression. James looked at Elyse oddly, "What's wrong with you? Has no sleep messed with your brain that much?"

"I believe her brain in perfectly fine, it is yours I am concerned about."

James near jumped a mile in the air. His face became pale and he clutched his chest as he turned around to look at his head of house. "Merlin's sagging left ball sack, Professor, you can't scare a sweet, innocent little kid such as myself like that!"

"That's another detention Potter."

"Damn it." James cursed.

"And there's another."

James opened his mouth to swear again but Ursula practically dove over the table and covered his mouth with her hand. "James, for once in your life, shut the hell up."

The corner of McGonagall's mouth twitched up and Elyse swore that she looked amused, "That's another detention for you, as well Miss Black."

"Damn it."


	7. The Defense Professor

_I still don't own Harry Potter. Shocker. I only own what you don't recognize and the story plot. That's all; nothing more, nothing less._

* * *

It was Thursday before they had Defense Against Dark Arts. It was a fact they discovered at breakfast that morning when they were comparing their schedules for the day.

"First we all have Transfiguration with the 'Puffs. Then double History of Magic with the 'Claws. Lunch, our elective, then double D.A.D.A. with the 'Ins. Think the teachers took the Hat's song to heart? I do." James said.

Remus rolled his eyes, "The deduction skills you have simply astound me."

Either James didn't catch the sarcasm or he decided to ignore it as he continued, "Thanks Moony. I always know I can count on you to see reason."

Ben and Remus shared a look before they started softly laughing. James didn't even seem fazed at their laughter.

Suddenly, James got a forlorn look on his face. Then just as suddenly as his expression changed, it changed again; this time to a smirk.

"Oi! Evans!" He shouted down the table.

The red head turned and scowled at James. It didn't matter that she was relatively impressed with the potion skill he demonstrated earlier that week, she still was angry with what happened in the Entrance Hall earlier that night. It also didn't help that she was still sore about being turned into a human sized Gryffindor Scarf.

James didn't even wait for her to respond before he asked, "Would you magic me up some glasses? I just got blinded by your beauty."

Alice, who was sitting across from Lily, spat out her pumpkin juice in a spray that drenched Lily. But Lily didn't notice. She was too busy seething at what James said. She closed her eyes and seemed to be struggling to not hex him into the next millennium while James's friends were dissolving into fits of laughter.

Finally, Lily opened her eyes and looked calmly at Potter, "I suggest checking you face." She waved her wand, uttering a spell that they couldn't hear. With that, she stood up, grabbed her book, and started walking out of the Great Hall.

The six other Gryffindors turned to look back at James to see what she had done to him. Their eyes all widened when they saw what Lily had done. She had used to engorgio charm to enlarge his glasses tenfold- and they were still growing.

They slid off James's face and shattered on the table, covering everything in little bits of glass and shards of wire framing. James, who was legally blind at this point, moved as if he was to start groping at the table to find his glasses. Sirius grabbed his wrists and held them up. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Remus by this point had pulled out his wand and waved it over the table, "Oculus Reparo."

The glasses pulled themselves together and after Ben shrunk them back to normal size, he handed them back to James. "Here you go, mate. What with this sudden obsession with Lily?" He inquired.

James just raised an eyebrow, "What obsession? Let's get to class. Minnie will feed me to the Giant Squid if I show up late to her class."

"I thought you said she loves you?" Ursula challenged.

"She'll kill me with love," James said as he swooned into Ursula as he held his hands to his heart. She rolled her eyes and shoved him away from her.

* * *

Hours later, the girls were waiting in the Defense corridor after they got out of Divination early. Sirius and Peter were the first to join them.

"So how was Crazy Carpenter?" Sirius asked of the Divination Professor that was known for being completely off his rocker. Ursula shuddered while Elyse fake vomited.

"Teh idiot doesn't know a thing aboot teh future!" Elyse said in disgust.

Sirius laughed, "He can't be that bad." He tried to defend the teacher.

Elyse gave him a deadpanned look, " 'e told me 'hat I had a closed mind 'n I was not in touch with me 'inner eye'."

Immediately, Sirius stopped laughing and looked at his twin with wide eyes, "Sissy, did he really say that?"

When Ursula nodded, Sirius snorted in disbelief. "That man has less seer in his entire body than you do on just on a strand of your hair."

"Who does?" Ben asked as he joined the group outside of their defense classroom. He was joined by Remus and James, who had all elected to take Arithmancy. James was the surprise in that group; he never seemed the type to take such a subject. When asked about it, James explained that although his best friend could see the future with much more certainty, it didn't mean that he could learn what he could about the subject; this was only way his non-seer blood allowed him to do so.

"Crazy Carpenter. He told Elyse she had no inner eye."

Just like Sirius had reacted, the rest of them looked at the said girl in shock. James shook his head, "Blimmey, Carpy's crazier than I thought."

Their conversation was cut short when the rest of the Gryffindors and a few Slytherins walked down the hallway. The gang quickly went into the room and got their seats in the back of the class on the Gryffindor side.

They didn't have to wait long before the new professor showed up. She was wearing a burnt orange robe and her hair was pulled into the messiest bun the girls had ever seen. She walked down the center aisle to her desk. She threw some papers haphazardly on her desk. Turning around she smiled at the class and stuck her wand into her bun.

"Good afternoon class. My name is Stella Clarke and I am your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor this year. From what I understand you've have two other teachers before me. I can promise you this; I am not a Death Eater," she pulled up her left sleeve and showed the whole class, who mostly chuckled. She smiled along with them before she started speaking again, "I can't really make a promise against dying, but I'll try my best to live until the end of the term." She winked at them.

James elbowed Sirius in the ribs, "I think I have a new favorite professor." He whispered.

Sirius snickered and whispered back, "Just don't let Minnie know."

Professor Clarke crossed her arms and leaned back on her desk, "I'm not going to lie and say that this year is going to be easy. There are dark forces out there. Chances are you already know someone who has lost someone or you personally know one of the dead. This year is possibly going to be one of the most important years in you education, defense-wise. Lord Voldemort is not just going to be gathering up other wizards; he's going for dark creatures. Those creatures don't have human emotions; they won't hesitate slaughtering you or your family."

She regarded the class for a moment and took in their terrified glances. She sighed and shook her head, "Here I am terrifying you on the first day. I'm not saying that a horde of centaurs are going to storm into your dorms tonight and kill you all. I'm saying that you need to be prepared for anything; the good and the bad. What my goal for you this year is to take what you might consider bad, and maybe try to see it in a different light. Being a muggleborn witch, I had the image of mermaids being beautiful. I got pushed into the Black Lake my fourth year and saw just how beautiful they are up close," she said making a face.

There was some scattered laughter. She smiled at them, making her look younger than she already was. "I thought that today we could start out with a little debate of sorts. I think I can assume that this class has some differing opinions, so I want to see what they are. Muggleborns. Good? Bad? Go."

The class was silent a moment before Avery spoke up, scars still marring his face from the disastrous prank from last year, "They don't belong here. They aren't worthy of being taught magic."

Some of the Gryffindors made to stand up and hex the heck out of Avery, but Professor Clarke stopped them with a simple hand motion. She then turned to Avery, "Why do you think that?"

"Their blood is dirty."

She turned to the Gryffindor side for a moment. "Is there a pureblood and muggleborn that would like to try an experiment with me?"

Ursula's and Elyse's hand instantly shot into the air. Clarke looked between the two and then waved them both up. She motioned for them to come close to her and she whispered her idea to them. They looked a bit hesitant, but they went behind a curtain. They appeared a few seconds later with two small vials full of red liquid. It took the class a second to realize what it was. It was blood.

"As you are probably aware, Mr. Avery, Miss O'Brian here is a muggleborn and Miss Black here is of extremely pureblood. Can you tell me the difference?" She asked as she took the vials from the girls and held them in front of Avery and Snape (who was sitting right next to the other boy).

Avery looked affronted for a moment before he pointed to the vial that Ursula was holding, "That is cleaner than the mudblood's. You can see it." He looked at the other vial in disgust and hit it out the professor's hand. It shattered on the ground and the blood spattered on the ground and on the professor's robes. She looked at him with cold blue eyes.

"Detention. That word will never be uttered again in this room. And just to inform you, Mr. Avery, that blood that is spattered on the ground and is 'unclean'? That's was Miss Black's. They switched behind the curtain."

Avery looked absolutely furious but he kept his mouth shut. Clarke stood straight up again and walked to the middle of the room. She looked tired all of a sudden.

"There are people out there right now that are getting murdered just because of the family they were born into. Your classmates have already lost family members because of some man's idea that the only people that should learn magic are purebloods. My own little sister and my twin were caught in an attack just over the summer. My twin, Estrella, was killed. I had to bury my identical twin sister when I was just 31 years old. All because we are muggleborn witches."

The class was dead silent. Sirius and Ursula looked at each other with fear in their eyes. They had never considered what being blood traitors really meant in this world. To most purebloods, being a blood traitor is worse than being muggleborn. What if—what if one of them got killed in this war? It was obvious they couldn't take a bystanders position; their best friends were the Minister of Magic's son, a werewolf, the former Head Auror's son, another blood traitor, and a muggleborn. They would be fighting. And people would be dying. They had never been apart before; the idea was ludicrous in their minds. But the finality of death was something that neither Black could control. Their silver eyes communicated emotions they would never be able to put into words as they stared at each other only seats away but at that moment, too far.

Clarke started speaking again, this time so softly the entire class leaned in to listen.

"This war is not going to end quickly. It is possible that a fair few of you might die in the process, on whatever side you decide to be on." She gave a look at the Slytherins before she continued. "But if there is one thing that I want you to take out of this class is to think for yourself. Break away from your family if you must; don't just go along with what others try to force you to believe if you truly don't believe. I see we already have a few that have done that in here," she smiled at Sirius and Ursula. "There are always two sides to an argument, just as there are always two sides to a person or dark creature. For your homework, I want you to create a good versus bad chart on a creature that is traditionally considered dark. We will discuss them next week. Class dismissed." She walked around her desk and sat down and started looking at some of the papers she threw there earlier in the class.

The students just sat in awed silence. Finally, a few kids started putting their stuff away which caused a domino effect. Soon, everyone was rushing to pack up to get out of the class so they could talk about what just happened.

"Oh, Miss Black and O'Brian, could you please come up here." Clarke spoke over the noise.

Ursula and Elyse looked at each other and wondered if it was something about their volunteering earlier in class.

"We'll be right outside the door," Ben assured them as he walked past them.

The girls waited before everyone was out of the classroom before they walked up to the teacher's desk. Clarke must have seen their expressions because she smiled reassuringly at the girls, "Don't worry, you aren't in trouble. Unless you have something to be in trouble for?"

Ursula and Elyse tried to look innocent but they kept on thinking back to the frizzifying charm they put on the boy's shampoo that morning.

To their surprise Clarke laughed, "Don't worry girls; I was in a bit of a prankster myself. Nothing compared to what I heard about you and your friends, but just enough that I think I drove Minerva up a wall."

"You were in Gryffindor?" Ursula asked curiously.

Clarke nodded, "My twin and I were both in Gryffindor. But this isn't about me. Minerva also told me of you 'accident' last year. I want you to both know that if you ever need extra help with something, feel free to ask."

"We don't want any special treatment," Elyse said in a stiff tone.

Clarke shook her head, "You don't understand me. A lot of what we are going to be doing is visually looking at things so you can identify different magical creatures and we are going to be doing a fair bit of spell work that at your level required verbal incantations. I know Flammel's disease can sometimes flare up and the symptoms come back without warning. I just want you to know that if you ever can't do something, don't hesitate to tell me. Trust me, I will understand better than most people."

Before Ursula or Elyse could comment on their professor's statement, a long bang and a swear was heard outside the hallway. Clarke smiled like she was remembering a past experience.

"You should go to your friends. They're probably worried I'm some vampire and I stole more of your blood." She winked good naturedly at the girls.

Elyse and Ursula laughed; it was a kind of conclusion to boys would jump to.

"Goodbye Professor," Ursula said.

"Bye girls." Clarke said before she went back to looking over the papers

When Elyse and Ursula stepped out of the classroom, they were immediately accosted by James and Sirius.

"Are you guys in trouble?"

"Did you do anything?"

"Is she mad at you?"

"Did she want more blood from you two?"

"Is she a vampire or something?"

Elyse and Ursula just shared a look before they dissolved into a fit of laughter. They knew their friends too well, and apparently, so did their new professor. They would have to watch themselves now; there was a teacher that understood them. And for some reason, that didn't bother any of them in the slightest.

* * *

_Don't forget to **REVIEW!**_


	8. Cub in the Snake Pit

_Sorry about the delay. Yay summer homework! Anywho, just a few things to address, Woodshrew- sorry, she isn't a vampire. There is something, but that's not it. Sorry. StormWithinHerEyes/Lil617/Laveycee- I like how you all liked the blood switch thing. It was supposed to be part humorous/ part serious. The reaction that it was kind of intended from the rest of the class was kind of like "buuuuuurn". Also, I'm glad you all liked Professor Clark. (Sorry Laveycee, you can't have her. she is a figment of my imagination, but even if she was real, i would claim her first)._

_Thank you to everyone else that just read this story but didn't review. Thank you for checking this out anyway._

_I don't own Harry Potter. The only thing I own is any character you don't recognize and the plot line. _

* * *

"Woot teh heck," Elyse muttered to herself as she looked down an empty corridor. She looked behind her. She saw nothing. She looked to her right. Nothing. Left. Nothing. She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders as she started down the empty corridor.

"Only I would get lost in teh castle," she muttered. She had gone for a simple kitchen run, but _no_. Peter, the one that found the kitchen in the first place, had given her specific directions to _nowhere_. Muttering angrily under her breath in a combination of English and Gaelic, she cursed Peter to oblivion and swore to only take directions to the kitchen from Sirius.

Elyse looked around the corridor to see if she recognized anything and wanted to hit her head against the wall when she didn't see anything familiar.

When she heard footsteps behind her, her shoulders sagged with relief. Finally her friends realized she was missing after an hour.

"Look, Avery, a little lion cub left the den and ended up in the snake pit."

A chill went down her spin and her heart jumped to her throat. She looked over her shoulder and saw a flash of color headed straight towards her chest. She flew backwards and looked up at the dark, soulless eyes of Snape.

Elyse pulled out her wand and tried to say a spell but the first spell that hit her left her breathless. Add that to the fact that her voice was basically gone, she couldn't effectively speak.

"What's this? Cat got your tongue?" Mulciber mocked from behind Snape.

Elyse's eyes widened in panic. She had wandered into Slytherin territory and she didn't have a voice. This was not going to end well. So she did what she could. Trying nonverbal spells had limited success but she also found that she could dodge their spells quite easily. That is, until Snape petrified her. She fell to the ground with a painful sounding fall.

Snape knelt down and sneered at her, "Not so brave when your not with all your little friends, are you?" he taunted before he stood up and kicked her in the ribs. Tears flew to her eyes and she felt like crying out. It felt like he just broke her rib.

He turned towards his other friends and Elyse got a look at all of them, committing their names to memory. Her friends were going to hear about this at some point and she knew they would want names. Her eyes widened when she recognized the youngest boy standing off to the edge of the group. His silver eyes tried to stay impassive, but Elyse noticed he kept on fidgeting.

"Finish her off," Snape ordered his friends and to say the least, they happily complied.

Two minutes later and Elyse was on the brink of consciousness. The last thing she saw was the silvered eyes boy stepping forward. She vaguely heard something along the lines of, "Stop, she's not worth it." but it sounded like she was underwater listening to a conversation taking place above.

Then everything went black as she finally succumbed to unconsciousness.

~Twelve Hours Earlier~

"Are you ready for today?" James accosted Ursula the second that the girls walked down the stairs.

Ursula rolled her eyes but nodded confidently, "You know I am James."

He threw his arm over her shoulders in a brotherly fashion as they walked ahead of the rest of the group, discussing something.

Peter looked at the other four. "What's Ursula ready for?"

"She's trying out for chaser today." Remus said, casually reading a book while walking next to them.

Ben nodded and deftly stole Remus's book right out of his hands, "Yeah and James really wants her to make it so he's going to be making sure nothing distracts her today." He said as he flipped through Remus's book.

Remus stole his book back and held it under his arm, "That and he doesn't want any Slytherin sabotaging her try out. He's making sure she's safe."

The mousy boy's eyes bugged out of his head, "Do you really think they would do that?"

Elyse scoffed, "Snape hexed James yesterday walkin' down teh stairs."

That was what Elyse intended to say. But what came out of her mouth sounded more like a wheeze. The four boys around her came to a complete stop and instantly, all the focus was on her. Ben placed a hand on her shoulder, "What's wrong?"

She shook her head, her eyes wide and fearful, "I don't know." She mouthed.

"Do you need Madame Pomfrey? A potion in your room?" Remus asked. She nodded at the second suggestion.

Sirius took the initiative, "JAMES! SISSY!" He shouted down the hallway. The two black haired Gryffindors turned and when they saw the worry on their friends' faces, they ran back.

"What's wrong?" Ursula demanded, grabbing Elyse's shoulders.

Elyse tried to talk but when nothing came out, Ursula instantly realized the problem. "The potion is in the second drawer underneath the drawing stuff we got you first year for your birthday, right?"

When Elyse nodded, Ursula pulled out a piece of parchment, scribbled a note on it, folded it into a paper airplane, tapped it with her wand, and threw it out a nearby window. When the boys looked at her oddly, she simply shrugged, "Lily decided to stay in the dorm late this morning to try to finish curling her hair the muggle way. Her mom sent the kit to her last night or something. Anyway, our window is open so Lily is going to get the note telling her to get the potion and bring it to transfiguration."

"That's genius," Ben praised. He gave her a half hug and left his arm lingering around her waist a moment too long. It wasn't long enough for Sirius or James to notice anything, but Remus's eyes caught it and he gave Ben a look the red head pointedly ignored.

The paper airplane soared back through the window and swooped right in front of Ursula's face. She picked it out of the air and quickly read it. When she finished, she burst out laughing and started guiding Elyse down the hallway.

"What's so funny?" James asked and he tried to snatch the letter out of her hand. She moved her hand quickly and hid it in her pocket.

"Lily's demands."

If James didn't look determined before he looked resolute now that he knew the note was from Lily. "What did she say?" He questioned.

"Not that it is any of your business," Ursula scolded him, "but she is demanding strawberry waffles, a banana muffin, and some chocolate covered raisins along with our undying gratitude."

Remus raised his eyebrows, "I never took Lily to be so…fruity."

Ursula snorted in a very unlady-like manner, "Lily is obsessed with fruit. She keeps a bowl of grapes next to her bed."

"Fruit, I'll have to remember that, "James muttered to himself.

"What was that?" Sirius asked, elbowing James in the ribs lightly. James shoved Sirius against the wall, causing some portraits to shout out indignantly but the boys just laughed. Remus and Ben apologized for their friends to the portraits.

They quickly ate breakfast, James always sitting between Ursula and any nearby Slytherins. After Ursula grabbed Lily's breakfast, they all made their way to the Transfiguration room. Lily was waiting for them just outside of the door. Her normally beautiful hair was now tumbling past her shoulders in gorgeous waves.

She smiled when she saw them, making her look more radiant than before. She handed Elyse the potion vial she was holding.

"I hope I grabbed the right one; your drawers are a mess," Lily chastised gently.

Elyse just shrugged, toasted an invisible person, and drank the potion. She shuddered and made motions with her hand to drink something. James quickly transfigured a quill into a goblet and filled it with water. Elyse greedily gulped down the fluid.

"Thanks," she was able to barely croak out. She winced as she heard her voice. Lily placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"You can be my partner today Elyse. I asked Professor McGonagall what we are doing and it's a spell day. I can transfigure whatever you need."

"We can do the same," James said defensively. He placed his hand on Elyse's shoulder and pulled her little closer to him.

Defiance glittered in Lily's eyes and she pulled Elyse back towards her, "Professor McGonagall will get suspicious if she's with you guys. No offense Elyse, you aren't that brilliant at Transfiguration." Lily shot her an apologetic look but Elyse just shrugged as if to say, 'eh, it's the truth.'

James took offense to that and now his own eyes were set with determination, "I don't know about you, but I take care of my friends. And I don't care what you want to think, I'm a hell of a lot better at Transfiguration then you are."

Lily's jaw dropped and she looked at James indignantly, "How dare you!" she shouted at him, "How dare you try to say that I don't care about my friends!"

"Ha!" James said, pointing his finger right at Lily's face in victory, "You didn't deny that I'm better then you at transfiguration!"

Lily threw her hands in the air, "You insufferable toe-rag! Honestly, you are so egotistical, it disgusts me!" She grabbed Elyse's arm and even though she was angry, she gently pulled her into the classroom.

James waved at her back, "Bye-bye Lily-Love!"

From the hallway, they all heard Lily's growl. Ursula, smirking after watching the exchange, turned to Ben. "Partner?" she asked. She nodded her head towards the door, "Considering my partner just got kidnapped, I think that you can be a suitable substitute."

"Why, I'm flattered Miss Black. I think I can leave Remus to fend for himself for one day," Ben said as he offered his arm to Ursula. Ursula laughed and took his arm as she sized Remus up.

"I don't know, he is quite helpless." She teased Remus.

Ben seemed to appraise Remus as they walked into the classroom. Sirius and James were already in their seats, messing around with small poppers that kept on exploding. Ursula noted, with a smirk on her face, that Lily and Elyse were sitting in the set of chairs the farthest away from the two boys.

"I'm not helpless," Remus said as he took a seat right behind Ursula and Ben.

Ursula turned around and nodded, "Nah, you're not helpless. Pete's the helpless one."

Peter slouched in his seat next to Remus and made no refutation at what she said. It just so happened that McGonagall, who was passing out their papers from earlier that week, handed the four of them their papers. Elyse and Remus both received an O while Ben got an EE. Peter let his head fall to the table with a painful thunk when he got his paper.

Ben reached back and slipped the parchment out from under Peter's hand. Peter jumped and tried to grab his parchment back but Ben kept it out of reach. Ben groaned when he saw the 'Poor' written in Minnie's hand writing.

"Come on Pete, you told us that you understood it after Remus and I explained this! What happened?" Ben asked in shock.

Peter flushed red and started stuttering out an answer but at that moment, McGonagall stepped up to the front of the class and the lesson began.

The rest of the day went as usual. James, Ursula, and Sirius were able to successfully perform the transfiguration, Elyse slowly regained the use of her voice, James charmed Professor Binns in History of Magic (James was the only person that Binns actually knew the correct name for), and Defense went brilliantly. So far, Professor Clarke was the best DADA teacher any of the years of Hogwarts could remember. The Slytherins hated her because she was a muggleborn, but she soon became a second hero to all the Gryffindor students (ranking just behind Minnie) and to the majority of all the students. She kept class interesting and she was actually teaching, not like Professor Avery.

Finally, the moment arose later that night. They were sitting around the common room fire trying to work on homework, at least, Ben, Remus, and Elyse were. Sirius was just lounging in a chair, looking broody. James was giving Ursula a last minute pep talk and a couple reminders about plays and motions he had taught her over the summer. Peter listened in awed silence.

James and Ursula left first, both to go change and for the former to grab his broom from his room. They left and the other five promised to be down at the pitch to watch in fifteen minutes.

"Alright guys, ready to go?" Ben asked as he stretched his arms above his head.

The rest of them nodded and they meandered down to the Quidditch Pitch.

"Who's trying out again this year?" Peter asked.

"Same as last year. There's Clara, no one would dare go against her for seeker. Ummm," Ben said as he scanned the field for more familiar places, "There's McLaggen and Zimmerman. It looks like there's a fair amount of people going up against them for the beaters position. Do you see anyone else, Sirius?"

Sirius squinted and nodded, "Yeah, there's Sean Wood. It looks like some little second years decided to try out against him; lot good that will do them." Sirius scoffed.

Sirius, Peter, and Elyse remained at the railing for the tryouts. Sitting in the stands up about seven rows was Remus and Ben.

"Do you wish you were trying out?" Remus asked Ben softly.

Ben thought about that a moment before he nodded, "Yeah, I kind of do."

"You should try out next year." Remus suggested.

"Nah," Ben shook his head, "I don't want to play chaser and that'll be the only position open. The year after that is when there're openings for beaters and the keeper."

Remus chuckled a little, "You really don't want to play chaser do you?"

Ben shook his head, "Everyone seems to think that is the position that I want to play because of Annabelle but to be perfectly honest, I've never particularly liked playing chaser in our mock games at home. I like playing a defensive position."

"How is Annabelle doing?"

"She's doing okay for herself. She moved in with Gideon and his brother and she just graduated the Auror Program over the summer. Alastor Moody says that he doesn't like that they've shortened the training period but he told my dad that he thinks Annabelle is going to be better than him once she finally gets in the hang of it."

Remus nodded appreciatively, "Sounds nice. What about marriage? I mean, from what I heard, she and Gideon have been together for eons now."

Ben laughed but shook his head, "Not eon, but they're almost eight years now, I think."

The other boy had a sly smile on his face and that made Ben nervous. When Remus got mischievous, it was more lethal than James and Sirius combined. "What about you?"

It was only years of playing the part of a politicians son that allowed him to keep his face impassive while he was internally panicking, "What do you mean?"

Ben was saved from answering as Elyse walked up to them, "I'm goin' teh get some food. Woot do yeh's want?"

Realizing that they had missed dinner to stay for moral support for James and Ursula (both of whom were flying around at that moment tossing a Quaffle between them and another chaser) and their stomachs protested loudly.

"Just grab us a couple sandwiches or something. Whatever is easier for you to carry." Ben decided for both of them. Elyse nodded before she bound down the stairs and she disappeared from the pitch.

Ben thought that he had escaped Remus's questioning and in some way, he did. They sat in silence for about half an hour before try outs ended. The two boys sitting in the stand followed after Sirius and Peter down the stairs of the pitch. James and Ursula were already standing at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for their friends. Ben was just about to turn around the corner when there was a tug on the back of his jumper.

"Listen" Remus began in a hurried whisper, "I saw how you held onto Ursula a little bit too long this morning…"

Ben didn't need Remus to say more. He knew his closest friend well enough to know where this was going, "Remus," he began calmly, "I am not going to jeopardize my friendship with any of you. Besides, we're what? Fourteen? We have our entire lives ahead of us to start dating; I have no need to rush into the game."

"Good," was all that Remus said, at least, all the Ben heard. He missed hearing Remus mutter under his breath, "I don't want to lose any of you," before he followed Ben down the stairs and gave Ursula a quick hug in greeting.

They were walking back up to the castle, James describing every spectacular dive he made. He grabbed Ursula in a semi-violent hug, shaking her shoulders like he would another one of his teammates, "This one! This one here definitely has a spot on the team! I talked to Jake about who he was considering and he said that he might have to color his hair black to match the other chasers."

Ursula smiled and Sirius patted her on the back, "Good going Sissy, you're going to give mother an aneurysm when she finds out you made the Gryffindor Quidditch team." He paused and looked down at her proudly. "But just one thing." He said with a teasing grin.

Ursula raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"Why the hell didn't you do this sooner?"

Ursula laughed and shoved his shoulder. Their barking laughs mixed together, echoing in the stone entrance hall. James opened his mouth to say something when a frazzled Lily ran up to them. Her hair was no longer in the perfect curls, it was frizzling and standing out each and every way, and her open robe hung over one of her shoulders, showing off her muggle clothes.

"What-"

"Elyse is in the Hospital Wing. A Prefect found her in the hallway. She was unconscious."

She barely finished her sentence when all six of them went running, no sprinting, towards the Hospital wing.

James and Ursula, who theoretically should have been the most tired, were the ones at the head of the pack with the rest of them following up in a small pack. It was pure adrenaline that kept them going. Sirius wanted to smack himself; he had offered to go with her to the Kitchen but she declined his offer. He should have known better than to let her go by herself, especially when her voice was still weak.

When they burst into the Hospital Room, the first thing they saw was Elyse sitting straight on the edge of the bed and looking perfectly fine. They shoved past Madame Pomfrey, who bristled at the invasion of teenagers.

"Are you okay?"

That was James's first question. Elyse held up a finger to tell them to give her a minute. She swallowed three different potions before shuddering at the horrible taste. She looked up at all of their worried eyes until she settled on Peter. Her eyes narrowed slightly and Peter flinched at the intensity of the glare.

She pointed her finger at him, "I am neva, _neva,_" she growled at him in her raspy whisper that was her current voice, "takin' direction from yeh again."

Ursula went to sit down on the edge of the bed but Madame Pomfrey pulled her back. "No, O'Brian needs her rest. I can only permit one of you to stay."

Elyse didn't even have to say anything. James clapped her on the shoulder gently, "Ursula'll stay. She'll fill us in later." James slipped something to Ursula, muttering something to her, before she nodded and shoved it in her pocket.

After the boys said their parting words, Ursula laid down on the bed next to Elyse. "Want to explain what happened?" She asked softly.

Elyse grabbed a pad of parchment off the side table and started writing down what happened. When the story was done, Ursula looked absolutely livid.

"Are you sure about those names?" She bit out.

When Elyse nodded and added one more with a question mark next to it, Ursula took a breath and shakily let it out. She rolled her shoulder and started to get out of the bed. Elyse grabbed her arm and pulled her back and wrote on the parchment, _Don't want to be alone_. Ursula took one look at the words and settled down onto the bed again. She wrapped her arms around Elyse's small frame in a sisterly manner.

"I'll stay."

Elyse smiled and yawned, tired from that the events of that day. Ursula waited until she was asleep before she slowly and carefully climbed out of bed. She checked to make sure no one was looking when she covered herself with James's invisibility cloak. Quickly running down the hallways, she got to Gryffindor Tower in record time. She whispered the password, ignoring the Fat Lady's terrified screech, and ran up to the boys' room. Like she knew they would be, they were all sitting on their beds waiting for her.

None of them had a chance to speak before she said, "We are getting revenge."

James nodded seriously and then motioned for her to join him on his bed, "Then let's get started."


	9. Of Brothers

The next morning, Ursula woke up early and quickly dressed for the day. She didn't bother waking any of her other dormmates. Seeing as Elyse had to stay overnight in the Hospital Wing, only three girls were left in the dorm and they usually got up at a different time anyway. But even as Ursula took the stairs two at a time, she only had one thought on her mind. She didn't go sit at the table where she and Elyse normally did when waiting for the boys to join her. She went straight out of the portrait hole and strode determinedly down the hallway.

She didn't stop as she passed the Great Hall that had a few early risers eating breakfast. She didn't stop as she passed the kitchens. She didn't even hesitate as she flew past the potions room. She only stopped when she got to the wall behind the cellars. There was absolutely no one around and the hallway was deafeningly quiet.

Ursula wanted to kick the wall in frustration; she had to talk to him before Sirius (or any of the other boys) got to him. Thankfully, luck was on her side when a small little first year stumbled out of the common room. Before the kid had both feet in the hallway, Ursula accosted him.

"I need you to get someone for me."

The kid's eyes flashed to her Gryffindor crest on her robes. He straightened his back and he spoke to her in posh, pureblooded drawl. "I don't need to listen to you. You're a Gryffindor and I-"

"Listen to me," Ursula growled as she took a threatening step towards the kid, "My name is Ursula Black; yes those Blacks," she confirmed when the kid's eyes widened at recognition with the last name. "I may be in Gryffindor but my brother is in Slytherin and I need to speak to him. So here's what you're going to do. You're going to turn back around, go up to the Second Year's boys' dorm, and you are going to bring Regulus Black out here so I can speak to him. Are we clear?"

The kid nodded, completely and utterly terrified. He jumped back into the common room to get her brother. While she waited for her brother, Ursula leaned against the opposite wall and slumped down a little. She hated pulling the pureblood card but she needed to speak to Regulus.

The kid had obviously been too terrified to notify one of the prefects or to get one of the older students to deal with the Gryffindor standing outside of their common room, for Regulus walked through the entrance a few minutes later. His eyes were still a little bleary since he just woke up but otherwise he looked the same as he always did.

"What's this about?" He asked her; curious as to why she woke him up two hours early for class.

Ursula got straight to the point, "Were you one of the Slytherins that hexed Elyse yesterday night?"

A crease formed on Regulus's forehead as he looked at her in confusion, "Who?" He questioned.

She sighed with annoyance, "A red-headed Gryffindor, kind of short, hangs around with me and out other friends."

Comprehension spread across his face. A smirk twitched at the corner of his mouth before he said, "She wandered into our territory. The little mudblood should make-"

He was cut off as Ursula shoved him against the wall, "Don't you dare ever call her that!" she scolded him. "Don't give me this I-don't-give-a-shit attitude either. She remembers you telling the others to back off."

Defiance flashed in his eyes, "I just didn't want us caught by a teacher. I thought I heard Slughorn coming out of his office."

She tightened the grip she had on the front of his robes. She spoke calmly as she asked, "Regulus, did you curse her with anything last night?"

There was a beat of silence. Then, "Yes."

Ursula shoved herself away from her younger brother and looked at him in disappointment, "Why?" She begged him. "You honestly can't believe the crap Mother and Father try to shove down our throats! You aren't like this; you're stronger than that."

"You don't know me!" Regulus shouted, losing his usual control. "You betrayed me when you became friends with those blood traitors and mudbloods! You're the weak one!" He shouted.

Ursula's temper flared, "How dare you! You're just a weak little boy that doesn't have a spine! Sirius and I don't allow ourselves to be brainwashed by the stupid views of our parents! We actually had the strength to think for ourselves, something that you need to learn how to do," she hissed the last bit at him.

He laughed humorlessly, "I'm not the one that needs to learn how think. Think for a second and start acting like the Black you are."

"I guess I'm not a Black then! But I do know what I think like; a bloody HUMAN BEING!" she shouted the last bit at him. "If you think that it is perfectly acceptable to kill people just because of what blood they have, you can go back to your snake pit and rot for all I care. Just know that Sirius and I'll be on the other side and I don't think that for a second we'll ever go to your side."

"Oh, and why's that," he sneered at her.

Ursula's mind was reeling as she saw her brother in a completely different light. He had always been a passive boy, too scared to knowingly go against their family but he always seemed to be sitting on the fence. Now it seemed like the Slytherins had pushed him to one side.

"Because we're fighting for people we love. You're fighting for nothing."

"It's not nothing; it's in the best interest for all wizards." He tried to say officially. Ursula got the distinct impression that he was just reciting something that he had been told time and time again. She shook her head sadly at him.

"You hurt my best friend simply because her family hasn't been wizards for the couple hundred years or so?"

"She's ruining the names of all wizards," He declared.

She shook her head once, "No, you're doing that fine all by yourself."

Regulus's eyes had settled into a cold, pale grey that Ursula had only seen on the face of her father. "You just don't understand. One day you'll understand and you'll come crawling back to us."

"Oh, because you know everything about life at the age of twelve! Excuse me, future Dumbledore, I never realized you were so wise," she said with sarcasm practically dripping from her words. "All I know is that the muggleborns and halfbloods of this school are sometimes better wizards than the purebloods. Clara Roberts – halfblood and the best seeker in this school right now. Lily Evans – muggleborn and currently ranked number one in my class. Elyse O'Brian – Muggleborn and she can do magic that you can't even dream of. Hell, some of the teachers aren't pureblood! Clarke – muggleborn, Dumbledore – Halfblood, Flitwick – possibly not completely human! Now tell me how they don't belong here." She challenged her brother.

Regulus's eyes were cold as they stared each other down. Finally he spoke in a taut way. "If you want to associate yourself with _those kinds_, I can't protect you from the fall out."

"And neither will I," she spoke in a deadly soft voice that was filled with regretful finality.

They stared at each other a moment before Regulus stepped back, "You're making a mistake."

He turned on his heel and started to go back into his common room. The door was about to close Ursula spoke up, "Reg, I'm you sister; I'll always be here for you if you ever need help. I don't care how far or deep you get into this. I will pull you out and protect you."

Regulus froze and kept his back to her.

"I have no sister."

With that he walked into the Slytherin Common Room, leaving behind a heartbroken sister.

Ursula stood there in shock as a flood of emotions overcame her. Hearing move voices coming from inside the common room, she turned on her heals and quickly fled from the scene of the argument. She flew past students that were starting to clutter the hallway. Pushing past them, she didn't notice the thin stream of tears falling from her eyes. Eventually, she found an abandoned alcove and collapsed against the wall and she finally succumbed to the sobs that wracked her body.

* * *

When the boys finally climbed down the stairs, they could instantly sense something was wrong. Ursula was not sitting in her usual chair (they understood why Elyse wasn't there) that she always sat in. Sirius looked at James worriedly, "Do you think…?"

James shook his head, "Nah, she's probably up in the girls' dorms. And since we can't really check that," He said as he walked closer to the girls' staircase. "EVANS!" James bellowed up the stairs.

A door flew open a couple seconds later, "What do you want Potter? I swear to God if you try to ask me out – "

"IS URSULA UP THERE?" James cut her off.

There was a moment of silence.

"She's not already down there?" Lily's much more reasonably volume voice carried down. There was the pitter-patter of someone's bare feet going down the stone stairs. Lily appeared a few steps up from the landing, her bathrobe wrapped tightly around her. Alice was standing right behind her with a worried look on her face.

Ben stepped forward before James and Lily could start fighting. "No, she's not. Did you see her at all this morning?"

Lily and Alice shook their heads. "She normally wakes up before us," Alice explained. "It's normal for her and Elyse to be out of the dorm by the time the rest of us wake up."

Ben turned towards the rest of his friends, "You don't think Ursula went to pick a fight with the Slytherins that attacked Elyse yesterday?"

Before any of the boys could respond, Lily spoke up, "What do you mean, 'Slytherins that attacked Elyse yesterday'?" She asked with curiosity and a hint of hesitation.

A mocking look settled on Sirius's face, "What's the problem, Evans? Surprised that the Snakes are capable of that? Yeah, well Elyse remembers her attackers and she happens to recall a greasy haired git kicking her in the ribs when she was petrified."

Lily gasped and covered her mouth with her hand, "No, it can't be." she whispered.

Remus nodded solemnly, "We have reason to believe Snape was involved in what happened to Elyse last night. Along with Avery, Mulciber, and Rosier."

Her eyes widened at the names, "You have to go to Dumbledore! He'll-"

"He'll what?" Sirius challenged with a mocking tone. "He'll give them a little slap on the wrist and a few detentions? No, we are dealing with this on our own to make sure they remember their lesson."

Lily's vibrant green eyes hardened as she looked down at them, "I forbid you guys from breaking the rules! The teachers are here for a reason; let them handle it."

Simultaneously, all five boys snorted.

"I'm sorry Lily," Ben apologized, "but this doesn't really concern you. We are going to do what we feel is right. We don't let people that hurt our friends get away with it."

Lily signed, slightly calmer than she was earlier. Alice then spoke up from behind her, "That still doesn't explain where Ursula is."

"Let's check the Great Hall. She might have gone to get Elyse and now they are waiting for us," the ever reasonable Remus suggested.

"I think it's worth a shot," Peter piped up.

James rolled his eyes, "Of course you do Peter. Let's go. It was lovely talking to you Lily-Love." With purpose he placed his foot on the first stair and watched as the stairs turned into a slide and the two girls fell to the bottom not gracefully at all. James quickly headed towards the portrait hole while the other boys quickly followed as to not suffer the wrath of a livid Lily.

"I'M NOT YOUR LILY-LOVE, YOU PRAT!" She shouted after him.

James just laughed as he left the common room. He walked ahead with Sirius and Peter who were still laughing at what James did to the girls while Remus and Ben walked a bit behind them, speaking about something completely different.

"I can't believe that we lost Ursula today." Ben muttered,

Remus smirked, "She's going to kill you if she ever hears you refer to her like she's a potions book or something."

Ben smiled, knowing the truth in the statement, "Still, I was thinking last night-"

"Didn't hurt yourself too bad I hope?" Remus teased.

The red head gently shoved the other boy who just laughed. "It wasn't too bad. Anyway, I was thinking, what if we create something that can show where everyone in the school is?"

Remus was silent as he thought about the seemingly crazy idea that Ben had just suggested. "Like something to warn where certain people are?"

Ben vehemently shook his head, "No, what I'm saying is that if we had a map or something of Hogwarts that showed where everyone is at every moment, we could have seen Elyse surrounded by Slytherins last night. We could find Ursula right now. Also, we could have avoided Elyse getting lost because the map would have shown where the kitchens are."

"You know," Remus said after a moment of thought, "that is just crazy enough to be brilliant. It would take a lot of spell work but that shouldn't be a problem for us."

Ben nodded excitedly, happy that Remus understood his idea. "That and one of our closest friends has an invisibility cloak. We can map out the school at night and discover all the secrets without getting caught."

Remus nodded, getting just as excited about the idea, "It would be helpful with some of the pranks that we try to pull out. Imagine knowing when teachers are going to go down a certain hallway or if Filch is on his way. Maybe we can even get the ghosts so we can prepare ourselves for the arrival of Peeves."

The boys had entered the Great Hall by that point and they found Elyse sitting all alone at the Gryffindor table. Her smile faltered when she saw that Ursula was not with them.

"Where's Ursula?" she asked them, her voice only marginally louder than it was the previous day.

"Right here," Ursula said as she quickly jogged to join them at the table. She looked like she was fine but Ben noticed that her eyes were slightly bloodshot and her nose was a little red.

"Ursula, are yeh-" Elyse began.

"I'm fine," She answered immediately. "I went to stake out the Slytherin Common Room. I have the password for this weekend." She said as she started piling her plate with food. No one noticed that she took significantly less than she normally did.

Elyse looked at them confused, "What are yeh's plannin'?" She asked.

The James and Sirius started explaining to her what they had in store for the Slytherins. As they went more and more in-depth, the smirk on her face grew and grew until she looked slightly maniacal.

"If tey didn't 'ex me yesterday, I would feel sorry fer tem." She said with a chuckle.

Just then the morning post arrived. James's owl, comically named Puffy (I was three guys!), swooped down and dropped three letters into his stack of waffles; Ben's family owl, Circe (Annabelle named him) gave him a letter; Peter's owl, Chubby (What? He is!), simply handed off the Prophet and stole a piece of bacon before flying off; a school owl delivered Elyse a letter. Ursula, Sirius, and Remus continued eating while the rest of their friends read their letters from home or the newspaper.

"So what's up?" Remus asked the ones with letters.

Ben just shrugged, "Anna just decided to drop a line and see how I was doing. She said that she and Gideon are considering marriage, but that more than likely it will take years before they finally do anything about it."

Ursula smiled but it looked bitter, "Must be wonderful to be able to say you have a sister." She said bitingly. She then proceeded to stab the scrambled eggs on her plate with a little too much force.

The boys' eyebrows shot up. "What's wrong?" Sirius asked her.

She opened her mouth to say another biting response but Elyse stole her thunder.

"Me little brother performed magic," she said in awe.

"What!" they all asked.

She nodded, shock numbing her senses, "Me mum wrote me sayin' 'hat Sean was cryin' fer 'is sippy cup and before she could get it, it flew te 'is hands."

They were all beaming as they congratulated Elyse on having a magical brother, even though Ursula's smile seemed a little forced. The rest of the day went by in a similar manner. Everyone was in a chipper mood but Ursula seemed a little bit…off. Ben noticed this throughout the entire day and noted that during lunch and dinner she kept on looking at the Slytherin table in the direction of a certain younger Black. It was only later that he was able to talk to her about it. They were all sitting in the Common Room, working on their Herbology homework.

"I need a book from the library, want to come with me Ursula?" he asked as he stood up.

Ursula looked up at him with a deer in the headlights look. "Wha?" she eloquently asked.

He smiled in amusement, "Come to the library with me." He offered his hand to her to pull her up.

She seemed to hesitate a moment, trying to think of an excuse, but in the end she allowed him to help her to her feet. They walked in silence for only a couple of minutes before Ben started talking.

"So do you want to explain what happened this morning?"

She was silent.

"You know, when you snapped at me when I mentioned Anna. Or how you looked like you wanted to through Elyse off the Astronomy Tower every time she mentioned her little brother?"

Ursula rolled her eyes, "Maybe not the Astronomy Tower…"

Ben chuckled but then gently pulled her arm to make them stop. "Seriously though, what's wrong?" When he noticed her hesitation, he placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "You can tell me; you don't have to always have to keep everything to yourself."

She sighed and walked over to the wall so she could sit. He sat down next to her and waited patiently for her to begin.

"I went to go talk to Regulus this morning. He was the other Slytherin that Elyse might have seen yesterday."

Ben's eyebrows went up, but he didn't say anything. Ursula pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around the tops her knees. "He didn't deny it. We got into the worst fight we've ever had." She said in an emotionally charged whisper.

He reached over and placed a hand on top of hers and gave it a soft squeeze. "I'm sure wasn't that bad." He tried to comfort her.

She laughed humorlessly, "He said that he didn't have a sister." She said hollowly. Ursula honestly tried to keep her tears at bay but the salty tears started streaming down her face again. She couldn't look at Ben, knowing that he was looking at her with a pitying expression.

"Oh, Ursula," he whispered before he put his arms around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him as she cried. His arm tightened around her shoulder as she cried. Occasionally he could make out a few words such as "disappointment" "weak" and "hurt" through the sobs.

"Listen to me Ursula, you are not a disappointment to anyone. So maybe your brother has fallen to the wrong side, but he can always get out. You just have to be there for him."

She sniffed a little bit but eventually regained her composure. "It was just rough, hearing how much your sister cared about you and how Elyse's brother is also a wizard. I was jealous." She admitted in a soft voice.

Ben rubbed small circles on her arm, "I would be jealous too. I know I don't understand what's going on in your family right now, but I can tell you that you have a family outside of your blood family. I mean, I think Mrs. Potter likes you more than she likes her own son." Ben pointed out.

The result was the effect he wanted. She started chuckling, "Everyone loves me more than James."

"Of course, Miss Black," Ben said in an overly posh voice, "who couldn't fall under the spell of your natural charm? You're radiance charms all men in your presence and leaves all the other girls green with jealousy."

She laughed louder and pulled herself up from the ground. Ursula turned and held her hand down for Ben to grab, "Come on, Mr. White, we have a book to find. We can't have you failing Herbology on us now; we already have Pete for that."

Ben grabbed her hand and snorted as she helped him to his feet. "There never was a book. I just wanted to talk to you in private."

Ursula's bark like laughter echoed through the empty corridor as they made their way back to Gryffindor Tower to finish their homework. They were laughing and joking with each other the whole way back and Ursula's bad feelings were gone and she was feeling happier than she had all day. All the negative thoughts about her brother were temporarily gone from her mind.

Ben didn't bother to tell her that she was still holding his hand the entire trip back; not that he really minded.

* * *

_I know you guys are all wondering about what the 'marauder's revenge' is going to be. I swear that I intended it to happen this chapter but then the fight with Regulus took a mind of it's own and a plot line of Ben being there to comfort her formed in my mind and it was too good to pass up. I promise that the next chapter is going to be the revenge and while I have an idea for it, I need to finalize a couple things for it so it might take a little longer to get it written and posted._

_As you can now tell, the relationship between Ursula and Regulus is deteriorating and as much as it pains me to do so, I have to face reality and let my characters guide me. It's an odd feeling writing something and then looking at it and saying "that isn't something she/he would say" and deleting it. It's also really weird when you make something happen that you don't want to happen. That kind of happened a lot writing this chapter.  
_

_Thank you to everyone that has read/reviewed/favorited. I appreciate every single last one of you. If you have reviewed, you get a double thank you for being awesome. If you just read the story, that is cool too but you know what's cooler than being cool? Yes, ice cold is a good answer, but reviewing is a better one so:  
_

_DON'T FORGET TO **REVIEW**!  
_


	10. Revenge Plots and Nightmares

They met in the Common Room at midnight Saturday. They were all wearing black and both girls tied their hair back to make sure it didn't get in the way. James quickly pulled the cloak around as many of them as he could. Very quickly, they realized a problem.

"Um James, seven of us aren't going to fit under there." Peter meekly pointed out.

James nodded, "I know Peter. That's why Sirius, Ursula, and I aren't going under the cloak until later. The four of you should fit under there." James said as he handed the cloak to Ben. Ben accepted the cloak and covered himself and the other's. Elyse wasn't fitting correctly but they quickly solved that problem when she jumped on Ben's back and he gave her a piggy-back ride through the hallway.

They moved stealthy through the hallway, James leading the way with Ursula and Sirius right behind him. They stopped at the landing of the third staircase, the one that allowed a person visibility of all the other stairs in the area.

"Alright, Peter, Elyse, this is your stop." James whispered to them as he crouched down to avoid any detection from the portraits. Immediately, Peter moved from under the cloak and sat down where he had been instructed earlier that day. Ben tried to pry Elyse's arms off his shoulders when she didn't budge.

"Elyse?"

She was frozen in a vision and they couldn't tell how long it would take.

James swore and ran his hand through his hair in frustration. He took a deep breath before he changed his plan, "Here's what we are going to do now. Peter, you're going to take Elyse back to the common room. Use the cloak. The rest of us are going to go finish the prank without it. And since we're losing this lookout post, we're going to have to go down to one person at the main one." James tone left no room for argument. Quickly the others reassembled as Peter and Elyse disappeared under the cloak and presumably went back to Gryffindor Tower.

"Let's do this," Sirius whispered as he started forward again.

James smirked and clapped Sirius on the shoulder. "That's the spirit. Hell, it's more fun like this."

Remus snorted as softly as he could, "You won't be saying that in detention if we get caught."

Either James didn't hear of he simply decided not to grant that comment a response. Quickly, they scattered down the stairs and they left Remus to be watch out near Slughorn's office. Ursula walked up to the wall that held the Slytherin Common Room was whispered, "Salazar."

The stone door opened and the four Gryffindors stepped into their enemy's territory. The Black Twins were distinctly reminded of their home on Grimmauld. Green and silver was everywhere. The detail that went into everything was highly elaborate and practically screamed old, ancient, and tradition. A large portrait of a mean looking sleeping man hung over the fireplace that didn't offer the same warmth as the one in Gryffindor did. The room had an eerie look to it caused by a combination of the dim candles and the fact that their windows were against the Black Lake.

They stood in the entrance for a moment, trying to take it all in. Ursula shuddered when she thought of the fate that her mother had wished for her. She would leave Hogwarts if she had to live there and judging by the look on Sirius's face, he agreed with her too.

"Kind of ironic," Ben noted softly as they carefully made their way towards the boys' staircase (they assumed it was the same side as Gryffindor) in the dim light.

"What?" Sirius hissed, his mind completely focused on the task at hand.

Ben motioned towards the glass wall, "The water."

The other three almost laughed out loud. Instead they settled for smirks. Quickly, they separated into the dorms of their 'victims'; Ben into the second year dorm, Sirius and James into the third, and Ursula to the fourth. The boys were hesitant to let her go alone into the dorm, but she stubbornly refused to be treated differently.

It had only been about ten minutes that Remus had to play look out for his friends when he heard the sound of feet making their way down the hall. His advanced hearing helped him identify the steps as his friends. He pushed against the wall and he quickly joined their fast jog back to the safety of their common room.

"Did you do it?"

James smiled evilly, "Let's just say the Slytherins are going to be feeling the heat tomorrow."

"You know what they say right?" Ben asked them.

"If you can't stand the heat," Ursula began.

"Get out of the kitchen," Sirius finished.

Ben smirked and victoriously said, "And we just set the kitchen on fire."

When Ursula climbed up to her dorm, Elyse was sitting cross-legged on her bed. She was sketching in her vision journal but she perked up when she heard the door open.

"Did it work?" She whispered.

Ursula nodded, "We got them, don't worry about it. And if we caught, you don't have to worry about detention."

Elyse looked upset, "I don't care. I wanted teh go wit yeh's."

"Don't worry about it," Ursula said. "There wasn't much to do except the spell. Besides, I'm sure your vision was more important than what we were doing."

The red-head shook her head. "Yeh's neva want teh see woot I saw."

With that, Elyse flopped down on the bed and with a flick of her wand closed the curtains of her bed. Ursula stood there a moment before she shook her head and got ready for bed. She wouldn't let Elyse's odd behavior bring her down; a twisted smile formed on her lips when she thought of the nice wakeup call the Slytherins would get the following morning.

That night, Elyse had a horrible nightmare. It wasn't a nightmare, per say, but her vision over and over again in her mind.

_Benjy Fenwick was on his knees, chains holding him to the ground. He was skinny and he was practically covered in blood. A particularly horrible cut drenched the side of his face. His honey blonde hair fell over his eyes and he stared in defiance at the cold stone floor. His only movement was his whole frame shivering slightly in the freezing dungeon._

"_You have resisted us so far, a strong will," A high nasally voice said from in front of him. "But we will break you. Now, for the last time, give me the locations of all the Order members' homes."_

_Benjy shook his head._

"_Crucio," Lord Voldemort hissed._

_The young man fell to his side as every single muscle in his body clenched and he fell to the ground. He convulsed and twitched but he never made a sound. When he was finally released from the spell, he let out a ragged breath and tried to even out his breathing. _

"_I will never," he gasped out, "betray the Order."_

_Voldemort looked amused by that. He turned to some of the Death Eaters that stood around the edge of the room to watch their master. "The fool," he began with a laugh, "actually believes Dumbledore."_

_The Death Eaters roared with laughter and Benjy looked calm. He looked up and with a small smile on his lips, asked, "Is that why you're scared of him?"_

_The laughter cut off abruptly. Lord Voldemort looked at Benjy as though he had never seen them before._

"_What?"_

_Benjy seemed to relish in the fact that he knew something Voldemort didn't know and he looked positively thrilled to have the upper hand. "I follow Dumbledore because he cares about every single student that ever went through the school. The people he leads go to him because they respect him. The people that follow you joined just because they're scared of you."_

_Lord Voldemort didn't look fazed at all. "Tell me what I want to know and I will be merciful and allow you to leave." _

_Benjy looked livid. "What? I tell you where you can find all my friends to murder them and then I'll eventually get killed. Even you're not stupid enough to think I would go through with that."_

_He smiled evilly, "I thought you might say that. Bring her in!"_

_The heavy iron doors swung open to reveal two Death Eaters holding onto the arms of an unconscious girl. Her short, pixie cut hair was matted to her head and her clothes were torn._

_Instantly, the effect on Benjy was obvious. He sprung to his feet and fought viciously against the chains. "LET HER GO YOU BASTARD!" He continued screaming obscenities at the darkest wizard known to mankind who just silenced Benjy._

"_I am giving you a choice; tell me where all the Order members live or watch Mrs. Longbottom die."_

_Someone had evenerated Alice by that point so she heard the offer. Her legs gave out from under her but she didn't cry. She closed her eyes and looked pained for a moment before resolve settled on her face. She moved her hands so that they were gently resting on her stomach. Benjy's eyes widened and looked lost at what to do._

"_So what's it going to be? Your friends' lives or young Mrs. Longbottom here? Need I remind you of her…delicate condition?" He asked with an evil smile as he knew that he had Benjy trapped. Choose between the lives of many and the life of his best friend's pregnant wife._

"_Who's going to die?" Lord Voldemort asked once as he twirled his intricate wand around his fingers._

_Benjy looked at Alice's accepting face and turned towards Lord Voldemort with his own face set with determination and acceptance._

"_Me." _

_Lord Voldemort honestly looked surprised. "My, my, what do we have here? A little badger trying to die like a brave lion?."_

"_Rather die like a Gryffindor than a Snake," Benjy spat with all the venom his voice could possibly possess. "Now let Alice go."_

_Alice, who had been stunned silent, found her voice at that very moment, "No! Don't you dare do this Benjy! I'll stay- you can take both of us prisoner. The Order is already looking for Benjy and they saw me get taken so they're going to hunting you down!" She shouted as she tried to threaten/bargain for Benjy's life._

_Benjy just shook his head, "Alice, don't suggest that! Get the bloody hell out of here!"_

"_Frank-" _

"_Will understand. He and I made a deal, Alice. And I'm about to fulfill my end."_

"_Ah, Fenwick, you should have realized by now that when you make a deal with a Gryffindor, they somehow always end up with the better end of the deal." Voldemort hissed. "Take the girl outside so we can fulfill _our_ deal."_

_Alice was dragged out, kicking and screaming the entire way. They slammed the iron door shut and Alice continually hit the door with as many spells as she possibly could. She made a small chinch in the door and looked through just in time to hear Lord Voldemort shout, "REDUCTO!" and see an ungodly amount of blood spatter cover the wall._

"_Elyse, Elyse, ELYSE!"_

Elyse sat up and screamed, still caught in the vision that plagued her the entire night. Ursula was standing over her with her grey eyes filled with concern. The other girls had been woken up by her yell and they were all looking at her with worry. The second that Elyse saw Alice's bright baby blue eyes that were still full of innocence and so carefree, she jumped out of bed and ran into the bathroom. She feel against the door and tried to control her breathing. How was she going to deal with this one?

It turns out that her friends offered a wonderful distraction. After telling the girls that she had a nightmare and they woke her up at the worst time, they understood and left her alone about it. Alice skipped ahead of them while Marlene and Lily stayed in the middle and Ursula and Elyse brought up the rear.

"You had a vision, didn't you?" Ursula whispered to her.

Elyse nodded, "It was teh one I 'ad last night. It kept on replayin' 'n replayin'."

Ursula just wrapped her arms around her shoulder, "Don't worry about that. I think that our little prank is going to _light_ up the mood."

Elyse could help but laugh at the pun.

"Oi! Wait for us!" Sirius shouted from down the hallway and the two girls stopped while the boys ran over to them.

Elyse raised her eyebrows at their disheveled appearance, "Who set a fire under yeh's pants?"

All four boys smiled at that comment. They piled into the Great Hall and started stacking their plates full of breakfast.

"No one really," Ben said, answering Elyse's question, "James was just _burning_ to go."

James wasn't amused, "Liar, liar pants on _fire_." He said in a sing-song voice.

"Here's some water Peter," she said as she pushed a goblet closer to the red faced boy, "You look like your _scorching_."

Peter mumbled his thanks under the rest of the group's laughter.

"Oi! Evans!" James said loudly to get Lily's attention. The red head turned towards the group and was about to ask what he wanted when he continued on, "Are you feeling okay?"

She looked at him oddly, "I feel fine." She said slowly as if he was going to do something that would cause her to be definitely _not_ fine.

He just smirked, "Because you're _smoking hot_!"

Lily slammed her utensils to the table and looked murderous at all seven of the now laughing teenagers. "What is with the fire references! Honestly, what did you do!"

Sirius leaned towards her and smiled roguishly, "Let's just say that a few little snakes are going to learn that when you play with fire-"

"You get burned." Ursula finished with a matching grin on her face.

It was as if the timing gods were smiling upon them because at that instant, Mulciber, the burly fourth year Slytherin, jumped from his seat with his robes on fire. Instantly, several Slytherins sent aguamenti charms his way and when they all stopped, her looked like a drowned rat. He stood their sputtering while the rest of the school roared with laughter.

Lily turned her furious gaze at her seven house mates. "You did that!"

"It's only the people that hexed Elyse," Remus tried to explain.

Ben nodded next to his friend, "And it's not like it will even hurt them." He added.

Lily looked at them as if she didn't know whether to shake their hands or throw them all off the Astronomy Tower for such disregard to the rules (and cruelty). It was a tense moment and the hard look in her eyes softened a bit. "It won't actually burn them?"

Ursula shook her head, "The flames are still there but they won't actually hurt them," she confirmed.

"Much," James muttered under his breath. Ursula's response was to elbow him in the ribs causing him to double over in pain.

Suddenly Regulus too was jumping up from the table and the older Slytherins quickly helped him put out the flames. But something else happened when the jets of water stopped. Not only did he look like a drenched puppy, where the robes had burned there were now the words, "Traitor", "Selfish", and "Brat" were a few of the words.

Ursula turned to look at Ben who was calmly sipping on his pumpkin juice. She was about to interrogate him and why he did that to her brother when Alice distracted her.

"What triggers it?" She asked. Six of them turned to look at her (Elyse stared at her waffles) and the other two girls sitting near them.

"A word." Remus started.

"They have to say it." Ben clarified.

Lily tilted her head to side and looked at them slightly impressed, "Wow, that's really advanced. What's the word?"

They all looked at each other, figuring out who was going to say it. Finally, Sirius sighed in defeat and looked at Lily in such as serious way that she looked honestly worried and surprised at the same time.

"The word they have to say is…m-" Sirius looked like he had just eaten a sour grape, "Mudblood." He finished in a soft voice.

Marlene's, Alice's, and Lily's mouth dropped open in shock from hearing the word of out of Sirius's mouth and from knowing that the two that had caught on fire had already used the word and breakfast wasn't even over yet. Suddenly, Lily's eyes filled with sadness and she quickly gathered her things. It didn't take long for the remaining teenagers to see what caused her such distress.

Snape was standing up and looking at disgust at his now charred robes.

"That bastard," James hissed. He was about to stand up and yell something at Snape (and possibly hex him since James pulled out his wand) when a large hand forced James back into his seat. James was about to yell at the person but when he looked up, he was looking right at Jacob Spinnet.

"What was that for?" James cried out. "I wanted to hex that little bastard!"

Jacob smirked but rolled his eyes, "I can't have one of my chasers in detention for the first practice, can I?" He questioned.

James, for all his faults, knew a losing battle when he saw one. He didn't mind losing terribly because he now had Quidditch to look forward to. James opened his mouth to respond but Jacob cut him off.

"It's next Friday at six p.m. Make sure you bring all your gear."

James nodded excitedly, thrilled that Quidditch was starting soon. "What about the rest of the team?"

"Clara sprained her wrist over the summer so she's going to be doing some light exercise. Cormac and Liam are still our beaters. They said that they went to a camp over the summer so we'll see how that helped them. Sean is still bloody amazing; I played with him this summer."

He nodded once at James before he turned and started walking away. Ben looked at the retreating form with a small crease above his brow, "He didn't say anything about-"

"OH! Black, you better owl order a good broom for next week! I want everyone on a Nimbus this year!" Jacob turned around and shouted.

Ursula sat in shock a moment before she realized what he had said, "Does that mean I'm on the team?" she shouted back.

Jacob smiled widely, "Welcome to the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, Black." He winked before he spun around and continued onto his destination.

There was a beat of silence before James threw his arms around her in a death grip hug. "YOU MADE THE TEAM!" He screamed in her ear.

She didn't even wince. Ursula just continued smiling like a complete idiot, the euphoria of making the Quidditch team filling up her entire being. Sirius was cheering obnoxiously next to her while Ben, Remus, Peter, and Elyse offered their more tame congratulations. James finally let go of the death grip but he still kept one arm around her waist.

"You know what this calls for?" He asked the group.

"What?" Sirius asked.

James smiled widely, "A Celebration! I think that I found a passage to Hogsmeade. It's this statue and there were some Runes I had to decipher but I was able to see where the tunnel leads and I think it's a bar in Hogsmeade."

Sirius looked at James indignantly, "And you didn't bother to tell us this! I told you right away when Peter and I found the kitchens! I can't believe-"

Ursula cut off Sirius's ranting with a simple, "Let's go."

James squeezed Ursula's shoulder a little bit, "That's the spirit!"

"Besides," Ben said as he pulled at the collar of his robes, "It's getting a little hot in here." They all snuck a glance at three Slytherins on fire and the teachers scanning the hall furiously to see who had their wands out to catch whoever was setting the Slytherins on fire.

"Just a wee bit," Elyse agreed and they all quickly scampered out of the hall as quickly and inconspicuously as they could. But of course, just as they stepped foot outside of the Great Hall, a very stern and very angry McGonagall shouted after them, "POTTER! BLACKS! WHITE! LUPIN! PETTIGREW! O'BRIAN! GET BACK IN HERE!"

"Run!" James shouted and they all instantly started sprinting away. By the time McGonagall got to the doors, all that could be heard was the distant echoes of their laughter.

* * *

_Hey guys! I hope that everyone liked the revenge that I concocted for our dear little Slytherin friends. I was stuck between this and another idea, but I decided to save that idea for later in the series so I hope that you liked this one._

_Oh, I have a huge favor to ask each and everyone one of you. On my profile there is a poll question. This question is something that I have been debating in my mind since I began writing this so I would like some readers' input. I would highly appreciate it if you took less than a minute of your time to vote._

_**Before you vote, don't forget to review!** I have mixed feelings about this chapter so I would like to hear (technically read) what you think._


	11. Name Your Fear

It was a particularly lazy Saturday towards the end of October. Ursula and Elyse had snuck up to the boys' dorm earlier that day to waste away the day. Currently, Ben and Sirius were playing a game of wizard's chess, the final game in the tournament they had set up. James, who had been knocked out in the last round by Ben, was laying hazardously near the edge of his bed while tossing up a Quaffle he transfigured from a sock. While the others seemed completely engrossed in watching the game, James was getting restless. A stroke of brilliance hit him and he nearly fell off his bed.

"Oi! I just had a brilliant idea!"

"SHUSH!" Everyone shushed him as Ben and Sirius stared at concentration at the chess board.

James ignored them, as usual. "You know, we should really get started on Ben's idea about the map of Hogwarts." He said in an assertive tone.

Ursula snorted, "Yeah, want to start drawing Jamie?"

"It can be like muggle school all over again," Sirius taunted.

Ben too looked up from the chess board, "Yeah, James, draw us a pretty picture."

Rolling his eyes, James didn't dignify that with an answer. "Me Lucky Charm, you have the most artistic talent; want to go exploring with me?" He asked Elyse.

Elyse looked up from the game, "Sure. Let me get me stuff." She stood up and disappeared from the room. James also got off his bed. He wandered closer to the chess board and studied it for a second. Still a little bitter about losing to Ben (Ben's comment a few moments ago didn't help his case), he grabbed Sirius's queen and moved her over, ignoring her indignant shouts at being manhandled. "Check."

He quickly walked away and smirked as he heard Sirius's cheer and Ben's complaints of cheating. He grabbed his cloak off his bed post and took the stairs two at a time and waited for Elyse in the Common Room. She showed up about a minute later.

"Ready?" James asked her.

She nodded and James offered his arm for her to take which she graciously took. "Sure yeh's not tryin' teh replace another red-head?" she asked him with a sly grin on her face.

James didn't seem fazed, "The love that Lily and I have is pure. One day she'll realize that and we'll grow old and have a full Quidditch team of children."

Elyse snorted but didn't say anything else. They traveled first to the Entrance Hall. James helped her take measurements of each hallway so she could draw it to scale. It took them a good part of two hours to finish two hallways.

"Have you finished your defense homework yet?" James asked her as she started sketching the hall. Her charcoal pencil paused for a millisecond before she continued drawing.

Their homework was nothing from a text book or something that they could copy off of each other. They had started a new creature in Defense Against the Dark Arts and it was one that Elyse feared the most at that point. Ironically, she feared the boggart which would display her fear for everyone to see. She thought of all the people she had seen murdered in her visions; friends, teachers, former classmates, random people. Their homework had been to think of three things that their boggart could turn into and to think of something funny to change it into.

"Not yet. Me fears are thing 'het people shouldn't know." She explained.

Realization spread over James's face, "Your visions, right. That's a bit problematic."

Elyse gave him a disbelieving look that clearly said, 'Ya think?' He held his hands up defensively. "Hey, don't blame the messenger, me little leprechaun. I happen to be perfectly happy not knowing my future but you know don't cha? You know how I'm going to die and when."

It wasn't really a question but she nodded anyway with melancholy look in her eyes. James threw some spare parchment he crumpled up into a ball at her and hit her right in the middle of the forehead. "Don't give me that look. I'm still alive causing mischief. But if you ever get a vision of me of becoming one of those Ministry idiots, kill me right away."

Elyse laughed at the disgusted look on his face. "Don't yeh worry. I'd be 'appy teh oblige, even witout teh vision."

James laughed loudly and threw another piece of paper at her. "Shut up, Lassie."

"Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black?" Remus asked as he walked up to where they were sitting. He was followed by the rest of the group though their numbers were down by two.

"Where's Sirius and Ursula?" James asked.

Ben chuckled as he joined them on the ground, "Some Ravenclaw whistled at Ursula when we were on our way down here. Sirius went into brother mode and hexed the kid. The boy's friend made a comment about the Blacks being insane so Ursula hexed him. Unfortunately for them, Flitwick was just around the corner and only saw them hexing two kids from his house."

James and Elyse winced. "'hat's not good," Elyse said.

Remus tugged at a thread on the sleeve of his cardigan, "Flitwick is known to be fair and I think that he has a soft spot for Ursula after she got the perfect score on his last test. Sirius on the other hand…"

Ben laughed loudly, "Ol' Flitty still has it in for him after the bubble incident."

The bubble incident was a simple prank, one that Flitwick would have normally awarded points for (he counted it as extra charms practice) but things had not gone according to plan. The bubbles covered the entire room and picked up the entire class a safe distance off the ground. Fortunately no one panicked and everyone enjoyed being carried by bubbles for about five minutes. Unfortunately, when the bubbles popped, they covered the room in a thick black goo that ended up destroying a lot of Flitwick's personal papers and everyone's charms books. Sirius had been the one to cast the spell so he had received a full week of detention. Ever since then, the tiny Charms professor hasn't been happy with the male Black twin.

"They were bloody awesome hexes though!" Peter defended their friends.

James snorted, "It's not awesome if they get caught; I taught them better than that."

All four of the others laughed disbelievingly at that.

"Says yeh 'ho tripped on 'is robes 'n got caught fer teh roastin' teh Slytherins prank?" Elyse asked through her laughter.

James tried to keep his composure but the very tips of his ears turned red. He crossed his arms and looked away from them, "I have no idea what you are talking about." He said haughtily.

"Sure you don't James." They all chorus disbelievingly. Well, all except Peter who instantly sided with James. "I agree with James!" He declared, his eyes shining widely at James.

Smiling confidently, James turned towards the rest of his friends, "See y'dolts, Pete here agrees with me; if that isn't enough proof then I don't know what it."

James joined them laughing, leaving a very confused Peter as to why his friends were laughing like hyenas.

* * *

The next day, they decided that they needed to venture outside since they had been trapped inside all of yesterday.

"So how did things go with Flitwick?" Peter asked out of curiosity.

Ursula smirked while Sirius's face darkened.

"Woot?" Elyse asked with a laugh.

"Flitwick actually gave the two Ravenclaws detention for lewd conduct towards another student." Ursula explained with a smirk. "I got off scotch free."

James jabbed his thumb towards Sirius, "What's up with him then?"

Ursula laughed outright while Sirius darkly muttered, "I still have detention."

The rest of them laughed while Sirius indignantly shouted, "It's not fair! I was just defending my sister!"

Elyse turned to Ursula with her hands on her hips, "Woot is it aboot boys 'hat think we need protectin all teh time!"

Ursula shook her head, "Probably has to do something with them being chivalrous, thick headed Gryffindors. But we aren't the ones that need protecting." Ursula informed her in a matter of fact way.

Elyse looked at her confused, "Woot do yeh mean?" She asked.

The corner of Ursula's mouth twitched up, "They're all about to be mauled by a tree."

The boys had continued walking forward while debating the validity of Sirius's detention and had strayed a little too close to the Whomping Willow.

"OI! LOOK OUT!" Ursula and Elyse shouted at them. The boys stopped on a dime and spun around, staying put. A branch from the violent tree came flying out behind them.

"DUCK!"

Four of the boys immediately dropped to the ground. Peter hesitated just a moment before the branch hit him in the back and sent him flying. He landed with a sickening crunch. The girls ran over to him while the boys scrambled to their feet.

Peter was as white as a sheet and tears were falling down his face as he cried in pain.

"Where does it hurt?" Ursula asked him with urgency and comfort in her voice.

"My leg," he whimpered.

They all looked down to see his leg bent at an unnatural angle. Elyse almost lost her breakfast when she saw it. Ben ran off to get a teacher because there was no way they could get Peter back to the school without hurting him anymore.

"Does anything else hurt?" James asked.

Peter nodded, "My-my- b-b-back." He stuttered out.

"Shit." James swore and he ran his hand through his hair. Sirius too was pale and he looked panicked, as if he had no idea what to do and that scared him. Peter moved a little bit but Ursula placed a firm but gentle hand on his shoulder, "Don't move Pete."

They were silent for about thirty seconds, waiting for Ben to return with help, when Peter smiled weakly up at them.

"R-r-remember when I-I-I said I didn't know w-w-what my big-biggest fear was? For Defense?" He asked through his sniffles.

They looked at each other oddly, wondering if Peter had hit his head too, before they looked back down at him. He smiled weakly, "I think I figured out my fear." He looked at the still moving tree and he shuddered, which brought on another wave of tears.

Sirius and Elyse smiled shakily at the attempt at humor while Ursula smiled kindly down at him and carefully squeezed his shoulder in comfort. James on the other hand smiled widely and looked proudly down at Peter. He crouched down next to him and nodded at him, "That's it, Pete! Who knew to make you funny all we had to do was beat you with tree branches!"

Peter's eyes filled with happiness at James's (roundabout) praise. Just then Ben, out of breath from running to the Green Houses, returned with Professor Sprout on his heels. Quickly, Sprout checked Peter over before deeming him safe to move. James and Sirius carefully helped Peter sit up and they wrapped his arms around their shoulders and Ben grabbed Peter's legs gently to keep them from moving. The four made their way back to the castle. Elyse went to follow before she turned back and saw Ursula and Remus collecting everyone's bags that had been forgotten on the ground.

"De yeh-"

Ursula waved her offer away, "We've got this, stay with the boys."

Elyse nodded once before she ran over the hill back towards Hogwarts.

The pair silently gathered up all seven bags. Remus took the fourth one from Ursula but he didn't say anything. Ursula knew something was wrong with her friend so she stepped forward cautiously towards him, knowing he was trying to play it cool.

"Are you okay Remus? You've been really quiet." She said.

Remus sighed and looked back at the tree that had literally knocked Peter off of his feet.

"The Whomping Willow is a newer plant; did you know that?" When Ursula shook her head, he continued, "It was planted our first year actually. And it isn't just some random tree that Dumbledore decided he wanted. It covers up the entrance to the shack that I spend full moons in."

The look in Ursula's eyes instantly softened when Remus mentioned his condition. Seeing him look so defeated inspired her to work on becoming an animagus more so that maybe, just maybe, he wouldn't be so miserable. "I'm sorry Remus." She placed a hand on his shoulder.

To her shock, Remus violently ripped his arm away from her. "You don't understand! That tree is there because I'm here! If I wasn't here then-"

"Then what?" Ursula challenged. Her eyes had turned a steely grey and her hands were on her hips. "Peter wouldn't have been hurt? I hate to break it to you Remus but Peter hurts himself walking down the stairs! You being here, not even considering your 'little furry problem', did not cause this. Now stop this little pity party before I push you into the damn tree myself!"

Remus stared at her, gaping like a fish. He swallowed loudly and shook his head, "You know, no matter how many times I reassure myself that you guys don't care about my condition, I sometimes convince myself that it is too good to be true. Having friends; friends that not only cared enough to figure out what is wrong with me but friends that accept what I am."

"Not what," Ursula said softly, "who."

For the first time since Peter got hit by the tree, Remus smiled. "Thanks." He said appreciatively as reached over to give her a half hug. She leaned into him and smiled. It always broke her heart a little bit when Remus doubted them. But they couldn't really broadcast what they were planning on doing to help him, even to him because he would immediately put a stop to it. She just wished that he wouldn't always doubt himself so much.

Suddenly a weight disappeared from her shoulder and she spun around and grabbed the strap of the bag that Remus had taken from her shoulder.

"There is no way I'm letting you carry five full bags while I only carry two," She informed him quite factually.

Remus the corner of Remus's mouth rose a little bit, "What is this, Miss Black? I'm just being my usual chivalrous, thick headed Gryffindor self." He said almost mockingly as he turned her words against her.

Her glare slowly turned into a smile. "Is that the case?"

He nodded, "Werewolf strength, remember? It only feels like I have my one bag."

Realizing defeat, she gave him one last look before she looked like James before a big prank. "If that's the case Moony, then race you to the castle!" She spun on her heels and started running towards the castle with the two bags hitting her legs. Remus barely paused a moment before he started running after her, shouting "Cheater!"

* * *

Thursday morning came all too quickly for the third year Gryffindors and Slytherins. Horror stories from yesterday's Ravenclaw – Hufflepuff class had spread like wild fire. Apparently, Gabriel Abbot's greatest fear was Lord Voldemort (which was not surprising considering he had relatives killed by the man) so when the world's most feared wizard appeared in the middle of class, it wasn't exactly a good situation to say the least.

That morning a flurry of owls flew in overhead, the flock looking bigger than usual. Three owls swooped down and dropped off papers for Ben, Remus, and James. The other four didn't get anything and continued eating their breakfast while Sirius and Elyse discussed their transfiguration homework and Ursula was trying to explain Quidditch strategy to Peter. The three boys with the papers froze and color drained from their faces. Remus and Ben looked up horrified at James. The messy haired boy was frantically reading the cover article.

"What's wrong?" Ursula asked, dread clear in her voice. There were a couple shouts of horror across the Great Hall and one girl from Ravenclaw was bawling her eyes out.

When no one answered her, she grabbed Ben's paper from his hand and her own eyes widened in terror when she read the article.

_ATTACK IN GODRIC'S HOLLOW_

_Four days after the attack in London, Death Eaters struck again in Godric Gryffindor's birthplace. A symbolic town not only for the man that later founded Hogwarts but because of the people who live in the quaint village. While it is a Wizard Community, half of the town on completely muggle making it a prime target for supporters of He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named._

_The attack began early in the morning. Death Eaters set fire to a local muggle primary school (a school where they teach children basic knowledge such as math and reading) while classes were in attendance. At last count, forty-five children spanning the ages of five and twelve have been found and indentified. More than twenty more children remain missing. Multiple wizards and witches alike noticed something amuck when the fire department (a group of muggles that work to put out fires) was unable to control the seemingly normal blaze. Wizards and witches, with a great risk to themselves, ran into the burning building and tried to save as many children as possibly. Sadly, most of them were too late. They sustained slight injuries for their bravery._

_At the same time this was happening, a horde of Inferius (page six has more details) attacked the Wizard half of town. Dozens upon dozens of witches, wizards, healers, aurors, shop keepers, and off-duty Ministry officials poured onto the streets and defended their home against the army of the undead. I spoke to a young witch, who wishes to remain anonymous, who witnessed the entire battle from her second story window._

"_It was awful! There were literally bodies littering the floor. It was impossible to tell if the bodies were dead inferius or if it was one of my dead neighbors! It was horrible! Simply horrible!"_

_I asked this young women is she knew the names of some of the valiant men and women who protected their homes. She nodded with tears swimming in her eyes, "Yes, yes, I did know a few. There was Bathilda Bagshot. You would think that a little witch like her couldn't do much but she was taking them down like it was her job! The one that saved the day though was Mr. Potter. He's the former Head Auror, you know? He ran out of his house faster than a speeding bullet (A bullet is a small silver object muggles use to shoot out of guns; a muggle weapon used to kill or maim) and he destroyed twenty in the first sweep of his wand. Pity what happened though."_

_The actions at Godric's Hollow cost around sixty children and at last count, eight wizards. The names of the deceased have not been released to the public as of yet. But let the families of those lost have some comfort for without the daring and courageous acts of those eight, it is possible that the entire village would have been destroyed. _

Ursula couldn't read anymore. She looked horrified up at James who looked like he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. She could see his lips moving fast as he muttered the word, "no" under his breath repeatedly.

"Mate, it doesn't say that your dad—," Ben cut himself off. "What I mean is that your parents are probably perfectly fine."

James didn't seem to hear a word he was saying. He was repeatedly running his hand through his hair and he kept on rereading the article as if it would announce to him after the seventh time reading if his father was alright or not. He made as if he was about to get up, "I need to talk to Dumbledore." He said frantically.

But just then another owl dropped a letter on his plate. His eyes widened when he recognized the handwriting. "It's my mum." He said horrified. James picked up the letter and opened it with a shaky hand. He tried to hold the paper but his nerves were too shot. Ursula reached over the table and gently took the paper from him. Sirius put a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder as they waited for Ursula to read the letter and tell him what the news was.

She held her breath as she quickly read the letter and her face gave away nothing. When she reached the end, she let out a shuttering breath and slowly folded up the paper. She looked up and met James's eyes.

"Your dad's fine. He has some burns but he's alive."

James nearly slid off the bench he was so relieved. He ran his hand through his hair and he took a couple of breaths before the color began to return to his face. It was the best news that James had ever heard in his life (he included finding out he was on the Quidditch team in that list) and he was sure that his parents just took a good ten years off his life. They were going to be getting a strongly worded letter from their son about this in the coming days about the stress they put him through.

James barely had time to recover before they had to go to Transfiguration. When they walked into class, James sat in his usual seat but didn't look around the room like he usually did. His mind seemed to be a hundred miles away with his parents when Lily cautiously walked up to his desk he shared with Sirius.

"James," She said, shocking him out of his thoughts.

He jumped the slightest bit and when he saw who was in front of him he ran his hand through his hair and smiled charmingly at her, "Hello Lily-Flower."

She took a deep breath but ignored the nickname, "I saw the Prophet this morning and I read about your father. Is he okay?" She asked in genuine concern.

James looked shocked for a moment before he rebounded, "He's got some burns but my mom said that he's going to be fine." He told her honestly.

Lily smiled, "That's good. I thought for a second that he was one of the eight that passed."

"That wouldn't be so bad," James said after a moment. Lily looked at him horrified for a moment before he continued, "You'd be able to give him messages for me since you're an angel."

Sirius laughed but quickly turned it into a cough when Lily turned her glare on him. She looked back at James in disgust. "Here I was, concerned about your father and you go and act like a prick!" She stormed away back towards her desk, ignoring James's call for her to go to Hogsmeade with him when they are finally allowed to go.

Ursula turned towards Elyse. "That boy needs to learn subtly."

Elyse rolled her eyes in agreement.

"Ah, boys. Can't live with them."

"Can't live witoot tem."

The rest of the day went smoothly. The teachers seemed to be taking it easy on them and they were often seen sending James a sympathetic glance everyone in a while. By the time they got to Defense, the story of Harold Potter's heroism had spread throughout the school and people actually stopped James in the hallway to congratulate him on having such a brave father. Though his friends just rolled their eyes, James reveled in the attention.

Clarke immediately got them set up for work. "Wands out, put all of your bags on your chairs and stand in the middle aisle please."

The students did what they were told. With a wave of her wand, Clarke shoved all the desks to the side of the room and gave them basically the entire room to move around.

"Alright class, I hope that you took my assignment seriously because today you are going to be facing your boggart. Don't forget that the spell won't get rid of it. The laughter is what destroys it. Now form a line while I go get the little bugger." She turned and went up to her private office while the class assembled themselves into a line. Fittingly enough, it was the Gryffindors that were first in line. Sirius ended up being the first one up.

Clarke walked back into the room carrying a small wooden chest. "I had to search the entire castle for this little guy. Now when I open this trunk, I want you to be prepared. Are you ready Sirius?"

Sirius closed his eyes and nodded after a moment. Clarke opened the trunk and stepped back. Instantly, the ceiling turned into a dark mass of clouds. Blinding lightening lit up the room and deafening thunder echoed throughout the room. Sirius raised his wand and shouted, "Riddikulus!" Suddenly the thunder turned into obnoxious farting noises and clouds started to rain miniature rainbows. The class roared with laughter (mainly the boys) at the musical symphony that was being tooted out.

"Benjamin!" Clarke called him forward through her laughter.

Sirius walked towards the back of the line, high-fiving all the Gryffindors, while Ben squared his shoulders and faced his boggart. The figure spun around before it turned into a mirror. But Ben's reflection was staring back at him. No, staring back at him was the eyes of a younger Annabelle. She was smiling evilly, almost taunting Ben. He raised his wand, "Riddikulus!" And mirror-Annabelle suddenly became clown-Annabelle. The Gryffindors laughed as they pictured the tough, former Quidditch captain in a clown outfit.

"Lily!"

Lily's boggart was comical before she even said the spell. Slughorn appeared in front of her and handed her an essay that had a large T scribbled on top of it. "You're a failure." Slughorn kept on saying over and over again. Finally, Lily said the spell, "Riddikulus" and Slughorn was in a hot pink bikini. That brought upon cries of laughter and disgust. Ursula's eye was twitching and Elyse was staring in horror at the boggart. Lily moved from her spot in line, leaving Elyse right in front of the creature.

It turned into something she was not expecting. A speeding calendar appeared in front of her, speeding through the months and the years. At the bottom, it looked like someone was taking a chisel and etched the words "_they all die_". The flip book effect then went in as she saw the face of everyone person she's seen die appear on the pages. Quickly, before any of her friends can pick out their faces, she shouted the incantation and the calendar blows up into brightly colored confetti.

Ursula was up next. The confetti flew together and formed into her little brother. He smiled at her in a purely evil way and slowly slid up the sleeve to his robe on his left arm to reveal the Dark Mark. Quickly, she waved her wand the Boggart turned into Sirius dancing around in a frilly dress. The class roared while Sirius shouted out indignantly (but even then, he too joined in on the laughter."

The rest of the class went quickly now that they had the hang of things. Peter made the Whomping Willow dance with the ground's keeper, Hagrid. Remus made the full moon turn into a balloon that flew around the room. When Snape walked up, Sirius elbowed James slightly in the ribs, "Five galleons it turns into a shampoo bottle."

"You're on," James whispered back.

It was not a shampoo bottle. A simple, brown leather belt appeared on the ground. Sirius and James tried to hold it back but they couldn't help but roar with laughter at terrified look on Snape's face when he looked at the simple article of clothing. Snape, who had no sense of humor and was burning with embarrassment, quickly turned the belt into a snake before he went to stand by Lily. She seemed to understand his fear and she wrapped her arm around his shoulders. James glared at Snape's back and sent a simple charm Snape's way that tied his shoelaces together.

The only other hiccup was when Alice and Marlene were standing too close together and the boggart tried to turn into both of their fears. A half of a severed head and half of a creepy looking slug was actually a comical mix so they didn't even need to change it to anything.

Finally, it was James's turn. His paper of his guesses had been being taken off the Quidditch team, losing all his hair, and losing a match to Slytherin. What he wasn't expecting (though he wasn't totally surprise) was for two tombstones and two open coffins to appear in front of him.

_Evangeline and Harold Potter_

The tombstone read. Underneath their names, lay their bodies in coffins, looking as dead as dead could be. They were wearing expensive Wizard's robes, something that none of James's friends had ever seen the elder Potters wear. Their faces were ashen and they looked the age that they truly were. It was startling to all of James's friends, and even the entire class's, to see what he saw.

When Clarke realized that James wasn't going to do anything except stare at the 'bodies' of his parents, she stepped in front of him. The scene changed and it looked a like a giant brown wolf charging at her before she changed it into a smaller dog chasing its tail. She goaded the boggart back into the trunk and turned to look at the usually outgoing and confident Gryffindor.

"What was that James? Why didn't you do anything?" She questioned.

James shrugged one shoulder, looked the most serious anyone had ever seen him look in a classroom for the last three years, and said as if it was the simplest thing."You can't make death funny."

Clarke regarded him for a moment and then nodded slightly, "I couldn't agree more."

* * *

_Just a few housekeeping things. _

_One: I don't own Harry Potter. _

_Two: To explain Snape's boggart (because it is a bit ambiguous): the books suggest that he was abused at home by his father. Hence, he saw his father's leather belt. _

_Three: Band Camp is starting to I probably won't be able to update again this week._

_Four: The poll is still up. If you don't have a pen name, leave your answer in a review. I will count it in the end. The question is what position Ben should play in Quidditch: Beater or Keeper. So **VOTE**  
_

_Last but not least,  
_

_Five: **REVIEW!**  
_


	12. Hogsmeade

It was the first Saturday of November and the sun was shining brightly directly through the window and right into Elyse's eyes. She groaned and threw her arm over her eyes and planned on going back to sleep but the heat the cruel sun made eventually forced her to completely wake up. Muttering to herself about the pointlessness of the sun, she rolled over and looked at her clock. Seven a.m. She buried her head in the pillows and cursed the Sun gods for waking her up at this ungodly weekend hour. But then through her squinting eyes, she saw her calendar and the one word writing in bold letters.

Hogsmeade.

Ever since she had seen the glimpse of Honeydukes when they snuck in to get butterbeer to celebrate Ursula getting on the Quidditch team, Elyse had been waiting on bated breath to get to see the rest of the village. Growing up in a small, muggle village in Ireland, Elyse was already enamored with the magical town that she would get to visit from here on out. Her permission slip was the first thing she made her parents sign when she got her letter this summer.

She scrambled out of bed and quickly darted over to Ursula bed. The black haired girl was completely covered by her blankets, with the exception of her left foot which was hanging hazardously off the edge of the bed. Besides the foot, the only thing that was visible of the girl was a few curls sticking up over the edge of the blanket.

"URSULA TIME TEH GET UP!" Elyse shouted as she violently shook Ursula's bed.

Ursula jumped from her sleep and quickly grabbed her glasses and her wand. "What's wrong?" She asked frantically.

"It's Hogsmeade tehday!" Elyse shouted happily.

Ursula tried to look angry and sternly at Elyse for waking her up so early but she couldn't hold back as smile at her muggleborn friend's joy. Ursula threw her blankets off of her and shivered as the cold air hit her skin.

"So you want first shower?" Ursula asked as she went over to her trunks to get her clothes.

Elyse shook her head, "I took me shower last night." She explained.

Ursula nodded and started walking over to their shower. She was about to close the door when she turned back around and said, "Oh, Elyse, you should go wake up the boys. They're probably still sleeping."

Ten minutes later, even though she was in a completely separate part of the Tower and in the shower, Ursula swore she heard the boys' screams.

When Ursula stepped out of the shower, all the other girls were now awake and getting ready to go to the magical village. Ursula dried her curly hair and tried to pull it back but found it impossible.

"Where's Elyse?" She asked, knowing that Elyse was always able to fix her hair when it was being difficult.

Lily laughed, "She went to get Potter and his friends up. Apparently, it wasn't a friendly waking up."

"They're holding her hostage until she apologizes," Marlene explained.

Ursula laughed and shook her head. The she pulled out her brush and tried to figure out how to put up her thick hair.

"Need help?" Marlene asked when Ursula threw her brush across the room and fell onto her bed and screaming into her pillows.

Ursula looked up, "Are you offering?" She asked.

Marlene nodded and grabbed the brush and ordered Ursula to sit up. Fifteen minutes later Elyse walked in just as Marlene finished French braiding Ursula's hair. The red headed seer was practically skipping with uncontainable joy. "Who's ready teh go teh Hogsmeade?" She sang as she quickly grabbed her pocket money her parents sent her.

Ursula stood up and pulled on some light grey robes and nodded. "Let's go meet the boys." Ursula started going towards the door but she was violently yanked back. "What the heck?" She shouted at Lily as she rubbed her shoulder.

"What are you wearing?" Lily demanded.

The tips of Ursula's ears turned a little red, "My clothes. What's wrong with them?"

"You're allowed to wear muggle clothes to Hogsmeade. You don't have to wear your robes." Alice explained. "Didn't you see that on the announcement board?"

Ursula nodded, "I would but I don't really have any muggle clothes."

"Woot aboot teh clothes I got yeh fer yeh's birthday?" Elyse asked. It had been a tradition ever since first year that Elyse bought her and Sirius a muggle outfit and the twins loved it.

Ursula winced slightly and couldn't meet Elyse's eyes. "Ever since the incident the summer before second year, Mother checks our trunks for muggle stuff. We tried to hide the clothes but she found them and burned them. I'm sorry, Elyse." She apologized. She honestly was sorry. She knew that while Elyse's family was by no means poor, buying two full outfits for kids that weren't theirs while also trying to care for two small boys and a daughter going to Hogwarts probably wasn't convenient.

Elyse looked sympathetic and smiled in a way that let Ursula know it was okay. Alice tapped Marlene on the shoulder and whispered, "What happened over the summer?" Marlene just shrugged. Lily looked contemplative and deliberately walked over to her trunk.

"You're about my size so you can borrow one of my jumpers." Lily offered as she pulled out a large hooded jumper. Marlene also went digging through her clothes and held out a pair of jeans for Ursula to take. Ursula looked overwhelmed and shook her head.

"No, I won't take your clothes. I'm fine with wearing my robes-"

"Ursula, swallow your pride for a second and take our clothes." Lily ordered. "It's what friends do. Heck, I think those jeans Marlene just offered you are actually mine."

"They're actually mine." Alice piped up as she tied a bright yellow ribbon in her hair. "And I stole those from my older sister."

Lily gave her a look, "See! Just take them."

Ursula shook her head, "I don't feel comfortable –"

"URSULA!" Elyse shouted, "Take teh damn clothes! I want teh go teh Hogsmeade!"

With the fear of Elyse's wrath, Ursula grabbed the clothes while muttering about principle or something to that extent. As soon as she was dressed Elyse grabbed her arm and pulled her down the stairs. The boys were not sitting the Common Room for them so Ursula yanked Elyse over to the couches. As they waited for them, Elyse bounced her foot up and down and her eyes would flicker to the boys' staircase every thirty seconds or so to check of they were coming. Eventually, Ursula forcefully put her hand on Elyse's knee to stop the shaking. "For the love of Merlin, please stop." She begged.

Elyse did stop shaking her leg but she started drumming her fingers on the arm of the sofa. Ursula groaned and let her head fall back. But then the boys showed up and saved Elyse from possible death. Elyse jumped from her seats (yanking Ursula up too) and started briskly walking towards the Portrait entrance.

"Hurry up!" She shouted at them when they lagged behind. They all quickly complied because they had learned over the years to never cross Elyse when she was in this mood. Sometime during their quick stop in the Great Hall to grab a quick bite to eat, Elyse had taken all of their permission forms and then proceeded to rush them through their breakfast.

"Calm down, the village'll still be there if we sit for five more minutes," Sirius tried to reason with her.

His response was a harsh look that made him eat his toast twice as fast. The rest of the friends didn't really say anything to cause Elyse to snap at them because while they too were excited, they knew that she must have been ten times more excited since she was a muggleborn and she particularly loved all magical things and Hogsmeade was like the ultimate prize.

If McGonagall was entertained by Elyse practically throwing all seven of their permission forms at her while Elyse dragged Sirius forwards by the collar of the jumper her borrowed from James, then she made no comment. She did however meet Ursula's eyes and Ursula would swear that they shared an amused look.

"Tis- Tis is bloody fantastic!" Elyse exclaimed when they finally got on the main street of the village. She let go of Sirius's collar and walked slowly forward as she tried to take in the perfectly perfect place also known as Hogsmeade. There were a lot of Hogwarts students milling around the streets and some that were delibaratly going to certain shops. A fair few older students were holding hands (obviously on a date) as they walked together down the snowy path. There were some shop owners out in front of their shop showing off some of their best merchandise for the great mass of customers.

Elyse paused a second as she tried to take it in. In her wildest dreams growing up she would have never been able to even imagine the place but now here she was. And she knew at that moment, that was where she was meant to be.

"So, where to first?" Ben asked the group as he rubbed his hands together because he forgot his gloves.

"Honeydukes."

"Spintwitches."

"Zonko's."

"Tomes and Scrolls."

"The Three Broomsticks Inn."

Ben smiled wryly, "Glad to see we're all in agreement."

"How about this," James said as he took control of the situation, "I need to go to Spintwitches Sports store really quick for some Quidditch stuff but then I wanted to head over to Zonko's. So Sirius comes with me and we kill two birds with one stone. The rest of you can break into any group you want but let's meet at the Three Broomsticks in an hour for drinks and then to explore the rest of this village. Agreed?"

"Agreed," they all chorused.

James tugged on the arm of Sirius's (technically his) jumper and the two boys took off running towards a shop that displayed brooms and miniature Quidditch pitches in the window. Ursula's heart clenched when she thought of all the second hand school owned gear she was going to have to use for the match the next weekend against Ravenclaw. She had owled her mother about money to get the broom and the gear (Ursula had spending money, but not the type of money to get what she needed) and her mother's response in the form of a Howler was quite clear that she was even more of a disgrace by making the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

The boys had conspired and Ben owled his sister to send him her old Quidditch gear. Annabelle had agreed to send the arm and shin guards but she wasn't going to send her broom. A problem arose, however, when they got the stuff and realized that Annabelle had altered her gear over time so it was now custom made for a tall seventh year instead of a kind of skinny third year. Knowing that, all of the boys had an idea what James was up to and why he needed Sirius with him.

The remaining five decided to move together as a group down the street but Ben noticed that Ursula's patience with Elyse's excitement was quickly wearing thin as the small witch continued to jabber on and on about how amazing the town was. Ursula would rub her temples and quickly nod at whatever Elyse asked her. It got to a point where Ursula looked back at Ben and mouthed the word 'help' at him.

Ben looked up down the street and a plan quickly formulated in his head.

"Hey Remus, Ursula and I are going to go to the music shop. We'll catch up with you later."

Remus opened his mouth to argue splitting up more but when Ben shot a look at him and then subtly jerked his head towards Ursula, Remus got the message and nodded. "Sounds good."

Ben gently placed his hand on Ursula's wrist and led her across the bustling and loud street and into Dominic Maestro's music shop. The second the door closed, all the noise of Hogsmeade disappeared only to be replaced by classical piano music.

Ursula visibly sagged with relief, "Thank you." She said softly. "I've had a headache all morning and as much as I love Elyse, I was about to silence her."

Ben laughed, "Trust me I know the feeling. Remember, I share a room with your brother."

They both laughed and Ursula seemed to realize for the first time where they were. She looked around at all the musical instruments that hung on the wall and all the folders of sheet music and instrument accessories that lined the shelves.

"What is this store?" She asked as she ran her hand over some of the titles of the sheet music.

"This, my dear friend, is my childhood."

She froze midstep and turned back to look at him, "Really?"

Ben nodded and started following her around the store, "When I was four my dad brought me to Hogsmeade because he was going to have some drinks with some of his old Hogwarts friends. I being the adventurous kid I was, decided that I didn't want to sit in the Three Broomsticks so I wandered off and ended up in here. Dominic found me sitting at the piano and he taught me Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. According to Annabelle, that was the beginning of the end."

Ursula laughed at the story, "That's cute."

"He left out the most important part though," A skinny, older man said. His dark eyes were laughing with mirth and Ben's face flushed a brilliant red.

"Come on, Dominic," Ben begged.

Dominic crossed his arms and looked down at the teenager, "You know that you shouldn't leave the ending out. It's like not taking the coda in a song."

Ben sighed, his face getting redder and redder by the moment. "Fine. Feel free to humiliate me in front of my friend. I'm going to look for a violin solo." Ben went over to the shelves and started looking through some of the music.

Ursula turned her attention back to the owner of the shop, "So how did it end?"

Dominic laughed at the memory, "Well, the little tyke conveniently forgot to tell me that his father had no idea where he was. So in the middle of teaching him some more little tunes, the Head of Auror department bursts into my shop and demands that I "release his son or face time in Azkaban". Now, say how fair and just Jay White is, but the second you even appear to be threatening his family, he'll put you through hell.

"Anywho, I explain the situation to Jay and by the time I calm him down, the little bugger had already scurried off to some other part of the shop. When his dad finally found him, he had to pull him out of the double bass case – yes he almost trapped himself in a case – he was kicking and screaming."

Ursula looked over at Ben who was trying to look like he wasn't listening in but by now his entire neck, along with his face and ears, was bright red.

"I take it he didn't want to leave." She said with a laugh.

Dominic laughed, "No, no. But he did come back the next week with his mother and he said that he wanted to learn the violin. I gave him his first violin and he took lessons from me for the next six years."

Ursula moved and hit Ben on the shoulder, "Why haven't we been hearing you play lately. You used to be playing nonstop last year."

He shrugged, "I've had to practice a lot for the choir this year so I only get to play violin on the weekends I don't have homework. Besides, I need some new music to play."

"I think I have something you would like, Benjamin," Dominic interrupted. "If you'll excuse us," he said to Ursula as he waved Ben back into one of the back rooms. Ursula looked around the music shop and sat down at the piano bench. She ran her fingers over the smooth ivory. Back in Grimmauld Place, they had a piano that was in their family for three generations. According to her mother, it was a waste of space but her father apparently held onto it because his mother played and Walburga was appeased just knowing that it was a Black Family heirloom.

Gently, Ursula pressed down one of the keys and jumped a little at the loud ringing sound it made. She looked around the room to make sure no one was looking when she pressed more of the keys down and she smiled as she created her own little tune. Completely lost in her own world, she didn't notice that Ben sat down next to her until he started playing a melody over her simple tune.

"Don't stop." He told her when she jumped and stopped playing. She looked at him oddly but she continued repeating her simple rhythm as Ben continued playing an intricate melody an octave above her. They continued on for an unknown period of time before both of them stopped at the same time. There was a beat of silence before someone clapping caused both of them to spin around. Dominic was leaning against one of his shelves and he was smiling as he clapped.

"That was wonderful. I see you've kept up on you piano as much as your violin, Benjamin."

Ben nodded with a small smile on his face. Then Dominic turned towards Ursula, "You should feel special. Not a lot of people get to play that piano; it was made completely by hand by my grandfather."

Ursula jumped up from the bench, "I'm sorry sir."

Dominic waved her off, "Don't apologize. Granddad Philip loved hearing people play on the instruments he made. It would be an insult to his memory to not appreciate the music."

Ursula was about to respond when she saw James and Sirius walk past the store front. After quickly checking her watch she turned towards Ben. "Ben!" She exclaimed, "We were supposed to meet them at the Three Broomsticks ten minutes ago."

Ben's eyes widened and he quickly paid for the music he wanted before joining Ursula back out in the snowy street. He placed a hand on her shoulder as he helped guide her through the mass of people. When they finally got to the Three Broomsticks, they found that it was reasonable busy. Scanning the crowd for their friends, they quickly located them at a table in the middle of the pub.

"Hey guys," Ursula greeted as she sat down at the table. "Find anything worthwhile?"

Elyse nodded enthusiastically as she went into detail about every single purchase she made that day. From the screaming socks she bought to the rainbow colored quills she found, everything was incredibly new and exciting for her. Ursula laughed to herself at her friend's enthusiasm and awe of the town. James and Sirius returned a few minutes later with Butterbeers for everyone else.

Elyse grabbed the first tankard and sighed after her first sip, "Tis stoof's 'evenly," she said before she took another large gulp of the drink. They all laughed and spent the next hour or so drinking butterbeer and just talking. Ursula had just finished off her second drink when someone standing in line to order caught her eye. She tapped Sirius on the shoulder.

"Sirius, is that Ted?" She asked, subtly pointing at the mouse brown haired man.

Sirius craned his neck to look and then his eyes widened in recognition, "I think it is. He looks like the guy in the pictures."

"Well, there's only one way to find out," Ursula said. "TED!" She shouted over the hustle and bustle of the bar.

The man's head turned and he looked around the pub to see who called his name. Ursula and Sirius waved their arms around trying to get his attention while their friends looked at each other in a loss at who this guy was. When Ted finally saw them, he smiled and stepped out of line. Ursula and Sirius both stood to greet the man.

"Sirius right?" Ted asked as he shook the younger boy's hand. Sirius nodded with a smile on his face and then Ted turned to look at Ursula. "That must make you Ursula then." He said as he pulled her in to a gentle hug.

"Nice to finally meet you Ted." Ursula said.

"Yup, we've heard lots about you." Sirius said.

"Most of it in shouting voices—"

"Mainly from our mother—"

"So that makes you good in our books." Ursula finished.

Ted laughed and ruffled Ursula hair a bit. "It's nice to finally meet you two. Dromeda talks about you two a lot."

"Dear old Andy. How is she doing?" Sirius asked.

Ted looked at the rest of the teenagers sitting around the table looking at the three in confusion. He addressed them, "Sorry about not introducing myself. I'm Ted Tonks, I married their cousin Andromeda."

"Nice to meet you Mr. Tonks," Remus greeted.

Ted snorted, "Don't call me Mr. Tonks, that's my dad. Just call me Ted."

"Do you want to sit down for a minute Ted?" Ben asked as he stole a chair from another table.

"Thank you," Ted said as he took a seat. "I must say that it is really nice to see you guys. Dromeda has been worrying about you two, with being sorted into Gryffindor and all. She still remembers when she got disowned for dating me, so she was worried about what they did to both of you when you got sorted into Gryffindor."

Sirius shrugged, "Eh, we got yelled at."

Ursula nodded, "Yeah, we've been basically disowned. Can't really say that's a bad thing though."

Ted shook his head, "That's a shame. What about Regulus? That's your little brother's name, right?"

Both twin's faces darkened. "He's not speaking to either of us at the moment." Sirius explained.

Ted looked sadly at them, "I'm sorry to hear that. Andromeda's told me that you all used to be really close to each other. But with everything going on…let's just say that I'm not surprised much by anything your family does anymore." Ted explained. "Ever since they've disowned Dromeda, it's been tough, especially now, but I think you'll turn out fine. You seem to have quite a support group." He said looking at all of their friends.

"What do you mean especially now?" James asked.

Ted smiled secretively, "As you probably know, things aren't exactly safe for muggleborns in this world right now. Twice already I've had to fight off attackers who think that I should be dead because I'm a muggleborn wizard. I'm even more of a target because I married the daughter of one of the darkest Wizarding families. We've basically had to go into hiding since the wedding three years ago. But things aren't all bad." Ted said as his smile grew larger and larger.

"About seven months ago," Ted began, "Dromeda started getting really sick. She went to one of her friends she can trust and she found out that she's having a baby."

"Congratulations!"

"That's brilliant!" Ursula and Sirius said at the same time. The rest of the table also offered their congratulations.

"Thank you," Ted said with a proud smile on his face. "We've found out it's going to be a little girl so we're both over the moon. We want to tell you two, Sirius and Ursula, but our post has been stolen in the past and we didn't want that information to get into the wrong hands. That's also why we haven't been writing you both; we didn't want to cause you any more problems or grief."

"We understand." Ursula said for both her and her brother.

Ted continued, "Dromeda almost cracked and wrote you when we caught wind of you and your friend catching Flammel's Disease. She nearly apparated to Hogwarts herself, wards be damned, but that was just when she found out she was expecting so she couldn't really apparate or risk going near someone who just suffered a deadly disease."

"Can't really blame her," Ben said. "Sirius nearly broke into the Hospital Wing four times when she was sick."

Ted laughed, "Must be a family thing." He pulled out a pocket watch and stood up. "I'm sorry but I do have to get home. Dromeda was craving some butterbeer and I don't want to be dealing with a hungry and angry pregnant woman. I promise we'll write you when the baby comes."

"Send pictures," Ursula ordered as she gave Ted a quick hug goodbye.

"I will." He promised as he shook Sirius's hand. He put on his hat and quickly picked up his goods before apparating out of the pub.

"He seemed nice," Peter noted.

Ursula nodded, "Andy always described him as extremely kind before she got disowned and we weren't allowed to talk to her. We've never actually meet him before but she sent us a picture of the wedding since we weren't allowed to go."

"That's stupid," Peter said.

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Of course it was stupid; our mother was involved."

They spent the rest of the day walking through all the shops in Hogsmeade. James and Sirius had already picked up some stuff from Zonko's but Ben, Remus, and Peter added to the collection with some of their own buys. Elyse and Remus almost double handedly bought out all of Honeydukes while Ursula spent a lot of time gazing at the Nimbus 1000 in the display case at Spintwitches.

It was after they got back to the school and into their dorms that Ben asked James, "What did you get at Spintwitches?"

James smiled deviously and also with a hint of genuine kindness as he pulled out a small bag from his pocket. He tapped it with his wand the box grew until it was full size again.

"See for yourself." He said as he pulled off the cover.

All the boys leaned over to look at the broom sitting diagonally in the box with the words Nimbus 1000 engraved on the end of the handle. Nestled along side the masterful broom was all the Chaser gear that Ursula would need for the game the following Saturday.

"You do know she will never accept all of this," Ben said as he leaned back.

Remus nodded in agreement, "Elyse told me that it was a challenge getting Ursula to agree to borrow some muggle clothes for today. There's no way she'll accept all this stuff without a fight."

"But she won't be able to reject it because it is going to be delivered by owl post this Monday at breakfast by an anonymous source."

"Wouldn't that be a little suspicious? What if she thinks they're cursed or something?" Peter asked.

James scoffed, "Who would curse equipment; it's against the law of Wizards to mess with the perfection known as Quidditch."

"She's going to figure it out," Ben told him as he got ready for bed.

"I told him that, but does the git listen to me? Nooo!" Sirius complained as he climbed into bed.

James shook his head, "I know that you two aren't used to accepting charity but this isn't charity! This is a friend looking out for a friend and I don't see why she would fight this as much as you guys are saying she will!"

"James," Remus began, "I don't think it's the charity; I think she thinks she's a burden or something. I mean you remember how she acted at your house, wanting to help cook and clean."

"I know what you mean Moony, but she's not a burden. And even if she does want to count herself as a burden, she's a welcome burden!"

The four other boys snorted, "You tell her that. Just warn me when you do so I'm far enough away." Remus joked.

"Oh, ha ha, isn't someone being a comedian tonight. This conversation is over. I'm going to bed." James said as he jumped onto his bed and under the cover. "Goodnight, you wankers."

"Nighty night prat."

"Git."

"Snob."

"Toe Rag."

"Arse." Sirius and James went back and forth.

Remus, whose tiredness had finally caught up with him, covered his ears with his pillows, "If you two don't shut up right now, I'm going to hex you two so badly that your own mothers won't even love you."

There was a moment of silence.

"You think my mother loves me?" Sirius asked in awe.

A flying object shot through the air and with surprising accuracy, considering the room was dark, hit Sirius right in the face.

"Git." Sirius grumbled as he hugged the pillow and nodded off to sleep.


	13. First Quidditch Game

_Hey guys, I'm back. Sorry about the wait. I've been kind of lazy this week. So without further adieu, here is chapter 13._

* * *

Monday morning, when the boys walked down the stairs, they were surprised to see only Ursula waiting for them.

"Where's Elyse?" James asked.

Ursula answered as she stood up, "She isn't feeling good today. We already got Madame Pomfrey and she gave her some medicine. If she feels better, she'll be joining us for afternoon classes."

"What's wrong with her?" Sirius asked as they exited the Common Room.

Ursula shook her head, "It's nothing."

Remus raised his eyebrow, "It's not nothing if you had to get the school nurse."

"Did she have another relapse of Flammel's Disease?" Peter asked.

Ursula shook her head and looked exasperated at the boys. "Guys, please, just drop it. She didn't relapse from Flammel's Disease. She just isn't feeling good today."

"I don't buy it." James said.

Ursula shrugged her shoulders, "You don't need to buy it. Just leave it."

They didn't leave it. For the rest of the walk to the Great Hall the boys questioned Ursula about Elyse's absence and they shared their theories on what was wrong with her. When they got to the Gryffindor table, Ursula practically ran to Lily and practically threw herself onto the bench. She rested her head on Lily's shoulder.

"Lily," she whined dramatically. "Protect me."

Lily patted her head sympathetically and looked warily at the boys sitting down. "What did they do this time?"

"I'm offended, Lily Flower." James said. "When have I ever done anything to deserve your disapproval?"

She raised her eye brow while Marlene gave her a look, "Does she really have to answer that?"

"We just want to know what's wrong with Elyse," Ben tried to mediate.

Ursula faked sobbed into Lily's shoulder, "They won't leave me alone!"

Lily laughed, "Ursula, I would have thought that you would've known how to get rid of guys easily. All you have to do is tell them the truth." She paused and looked at the boys with a wicked gleam in her eyes. "You guys want to know what's wrong with Elyse? Alright, I'll tell you. Let me explain something to you. When a teenage girl becomes a woman, once a month she feels horrible pains in her lower tummy when-"

"STOP! PLEASE STOP!" The boys all cried as they covered their ears.

"Bloody hell, you don't tell people that!" Sirius exclaimed as he shook his head as if that would knock the words out of his brains.

The three girls on the other hand, were in hysterics at their reactions. Ursula was wiping tears from her eyes when the morning mail came in. Four owls carrying a large package swooped down in front of her. Ursula looked at the box in confusion.

"What is this?" She asked herself as she looked for a note. When she found none she opened the lid she barely had it open when her jaw dropped and her eyes widened. With slightly shaking hands she removed the rest of the lid and stared at the contents of the box.

The boys shared a victorious look when none of the girls were looking. Underneath the table, Sirius and James shared a fist bump in victory.

Alice was trying to look at the contents. "What is it?"

"It's all the Quidditch gear I need and a broom."

"What kind of broom?" James asked, playing dumb.

She looked up from the gift, "A Nimbus 1000." She said in an awed tone.

Before any of guys could comment, Lily spoke up. "You might want to run that back to the dorms really quick before class. You can't really carry that around all day."

Ursula started to stand up, "Want to come with me?" She asked the girls.

Alice nodded and disappeared from the Great Hall with Ursula. The two girls quickly ran up to their room and dropped off the box on Ursula's bed. They checked up on Elyse, who was in the bathroom taking a hot bath, who shouted through the door that she was fine. Not having enough time to question her anymore, they hightailed it to their first class, Charms.

When they walked in, Alice went to her usual seat next to Marlene. Ursula scanned the classroom looking for an empty seat and was surprised when she saw Ben sitting alone at her desk. He moved his bag from the chair when she walked over.

"Where's Remus?" She questioned.

"Working with Peter today," Ben answered back.

Ursula nodded but then a queer thought hit her, "Hey Ben?"

"Hmm?" He asked as he pulled out some parchment for notes and a quill.

"Why is it whenever I'm without a partner, I always get paired up with you?"

Ben turned a fait pink and he smiled charmingly at her, "Are you complaining?" He asked her.

She shook her head with a small smile of her own, "No, I just find it curious, that's all."

Just then Professor Flitwick walked in and called class to order. Today was a theory day, so it was kind of dull. This was especially so for Ursula and the boys because they had learned this charm when they pranked the charms room. Throughout the whole lesson, Flitwick kept a sharp eye on Sirius.

The rest of the early morning classes went on in this similar fashion. Ben would sit with Ursula if it was a double desk or if it was three, Remus or Peter would join them. When they were in potions, Ursula and Ben were working on the Shrinking Solution when they both reached for the valerian roots at the same time. Ursula pulled her hand away mutter a soft apology while Ben smiled at her with easy charm and stepped back and motioned for her to finish the step. Once they finished their potion, something hit Ursula on the back on the head. She turned around and saw a flying paper airplane hovering just in front of her.

She snatched it out of the air and quickly made sure Slughorn wasn't looking. When he turned to critique a hopeless Ravenclaw's work, Ursula quickly unfolded the parchment and looked down at the semi-accurate picture of her and Ben holding hands before leaning over and kissing each other. Blushing a brilliant red, she turned to glare at the only perpetrators that would dare send that to her.

Low and behold, Alice and Marlene were making kissy faces at the pair while Lily smiled knowingly next to them.

"What's that?" Ben asked as he went to reach for the parchment clutched in her hand.

Ursula jumped a foot in the air and quickly stuffed the parchment into her bag, "It's just someone's death sentence."

Ben was completely unperturbed. In fact, he seemed to be entertained by this. "Whose death sentence I may ask?"

"Alice, Marlene, and Lily's. It will be slow and painful; a fair punishment for what they have done."

He laughed as he finished up the potion, "You know, you might want to hold back killing Lily. James might just kill you if you killed his 'Lily-Love'."

"I guess I can let Lily live," Ursula conceded. "But the other two are going down."

Ben seemed to be thoroughly entertained by the entire situation. "So if they don't show up to Transfiguration this afternoon…"

"Then you heard and saw nothing."

He nodded solemnly while she put some of their potion in a vial and labeled it and went to hand it in. He looked down at the messenger back and then back at his two female housemates that he wasn't as close to. Every so often, they would look over at him and when they saw him looking, they would hurriedly turn back to their potion.

It was a comical situation; he decided when Ursula came back after sending a death glare at Alice and Marlene and running her finger over her throat in threatening manner. They thought he was oblivious to all their hand motions and subtle signals to each other across the room. None of them made any attempt to being discreet.

After all, none of the girls knew he had seen the picture.

About halfway through lunch, Elyse appeared out of thin air next to Ursula. She looked absolutely horrible. Her hair was a mess and her clothes weren't sitting on her body right and her entire persona just screamed agitation. Elyse threw her bag to the table.

"If any oov yeh's say anythin'," she growled, "I'll bloody keel yeh."

With that, she nibbled on some chocolate that looked suspiciously familiar to Remus.

"Hey, Elyse, is that my chocolate?" he questioned.

Elyse shrugged while she took a large bite out of it. "I wanted chocolate. I knew yeh's had soom chocolate in yeh's room to I took soom."

Remus opened his mouth to argue the indignity of having his chocolate stolen from him but he quickly snapped his mouth closed when Elyse glared ferociously at him. The rest of lunch went by quickly. Elyse's mood improved a bit once she ate some chocolate so the boys were free from death-by-glare for the time being.

The last class of the day for them was Transfiguration. When they walked in, they froze in confusion. McGonagall was not in the room. She was _always_ in the room. Dumbledore could be skipping through the halls naked while singing songs about candy and McGonagall would still be in her room.

"This is weird." Sirius said as he ventured forward towards his seat. The rest of the class seemed to agree with him because they cautiously walked in as if the room was booby trapped. Soon, everyone was in their seats. They were all stretching their necks looking for their teacher. Lily was about to go get another teacher when a tabby cat lithly jumped down from the upper window sill.

The cat walked down the aisle and passed all the students. When it got to the front of the room, it turned to stare at all the students. Ursula noticed that the marking around the eyes was weird, almost like she should have recognized it, but then a Hufflepuff girl named Kelly Sherman spoke up. "That's Professor McGonagall's familiar, isn't it?"

"Minnie doesn't have a familiar," Sirius spoke up.

Suddenly, the cat jumped up on James's and Sirius's desk. Sirius shoved his chair back in shock but James just smiled coyly at the cat. He nodded his head and said, "Good afternoon, Professor."

Everyone looked at James like he was crazy until the cat leapt off the desk and turned to face the class as it morphed into the Gryffindor's head of house. There was a beat of silence before there was a burst of applause from the entire class room. They were all awed by the advanced magic they were just shown.

James and the rest of his friends, minus Remus, all shared a look and pulled out extra parchment and prepared to take a lot of physical and mental notes. If this class was going to be about animagus transformations, they were going to need to pay extra attention today.

"Thank you. Mr. Potter, would you like to tell the class how you knew it was me?"

James nodded, "Your glasses matched the marks around the cat's eyes."

McGonagall nodded her head, "Good answer. Five points to Gryffindor. As the rest of you may have guessed, today's lesson is a brief tutorial on the advanced transfigurational magic also known as an Animagus Transformation. This skill, which only the best at Transfiguration can accomplish, allows the witch or wizard to change into one animal at his or her own will. The animal is selected not by the witch or wizard's own choice but by who they are…"

The rest of the lesson was the most informative and more in-depth any of the third year Gryffindors had ever had in that class. To the rest of their classmates, it seemed odd that they seemed to be hanging on McGonagall's every word. They took meticulous notes and asked specification questions unlike they ever had before. Even Elyse, who felt like a single step above death, stayed completely attentive through the entire double period.

When class finally ended and they were dismissed, the gang was even more fit on their resolve to become animagi. James was talking to Ursula about how they were going to get some of the ingrediants for the potion when the time came for it when Lily walked by.

"Hey! Evans!" James shouted after her.

Lily stopped and turned around.

James smirked in what he probably thought was a charming way, "What d'you say to going to Hogsmeade with me in two weeks?"

"Potter, get this through your head: I will never go out with you."

She stomped away and Sirius patted James on the shoulder condolingly, "Tough blow mate."

James just shrugged it off, "She's say yes to me one day. It's Snivellus that keeps feeding her lies about me. He deserves a good hex, don't you think?"

No one had the chance to response before Snape's voice clearly shouted through the corridor, "Caeli Remotionem!"

A light blue light hit James in the back and he fell forwards, gasping for breath. Sirius quickly knelt by his side and fumbled to get his wand out of his pocket. James's face was rapidly turning red from the lack of oxygen and his gasps were getting weaker and weaker.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO HIM?" Ursula screamed and charged after a smirking Snape. A pair of arms wrapped around her, pinning her arms to her side, while she screamed obscenities and the retreating Slytherin boy.

"Let me go!" Ursula shouted at her captor. She twisted and turned and tried to get free so she could go hex Snape into the next century. Turning her head over her left shoulder, she saw James turning slightly blue while Remus and Sirius tried a slew of counter curses. Over her right, Peter was holding back a slightly less irate Elyse. The said red head ripped her arm free of Peter's grasp and instantly went to go help James.

Remus was finally the one that said, "Finite Incantatem."

James took a shuddering deep breath. Like a man that almost drowned, he took in deep breath after deep breath of air. His face started to regain color and his got a little less glassy. Sirius handed James his glasses (they must have fallen on the floor when James fell forwards) before he placed James's arm over his shoulder and Remus did the same to the other arm. Carefully, both boys lifted James to his feet and started to carry/guide him to the hospital wing with Peter and Elyse right behind them.

The arms around Ursula slowly loosened before they completely went way. Ursula spun on her heels and glared at Ben. "Why the hell didn't you let me go after Snape?" She demanded. "In case you didn't notice, he just tried to kill James!"

Ben placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her but she roughly shook his hand off. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair once, "We had enough to worry about with James without having to make sure you didn't get hurt going after Snape. If he is capable of hurting James, then he sure as hell is capable of hurting you." He argued when she opened her mouth.

Her mouth snapped closed. He had stolen her argument from her before she was even able to make it.

Ben threw his arm around her shoulder and spun her around as they started walking towards the hospital wing. "Besides, if you got caught," he began, "You would get detention for this weekend and you can't miss your first game now, can you?"

"There's only one flaw there," Ursula pointed out. "I wouldn't get caught."

Ben laughed and brought his other hand around to ruffle her hair. "Shut up, you cheeky brat. Let's go visit our favorite git in the hospital wing!"

* * *

It wasn't until the night before the game that Ursula was able to look at her new Quidditch gear. She pulled out the broom and marveled at the perfection of it. It was the newest and best broom out there at the moment and now she was the proud owner of a Nimbus 1000. She would have to write a ridiculously long thank you to her Uncle Alphard, who she assumed sent her the broom and the gear because he was the only adult she knew with the money who would buy it, after the game tomorrow.

Ursula picked up the jet black shin guard when something fell out of the box. She scrunched up her eyebrows as she looked down at the black glove now resting on her floor. Reaching down, she picked it up and tried to figure out how it got in the package. She turned it over and in the palm of the leather glove the two letters J and P were pressed into it.

Anger flew through her veins. Without a second thought, she stormed out of her dorm and down the stairs only to straight back up the boys'. She climbed up to the room that had the Third Year marker on it and flung open the door.

"POTTER!" She shouted into the room.

All the boys jumped a foot in the air and Peter actually fell off his bed.

James sat up in bed and smiled lazily at her with his infuriating lopsided smirk, "You shouted?"

She literally smacked the smile off his face when she hit him with his glove before she threw it at him. "Tell me why I found that in the package I got that had all the new Quidditch stuff in it." She demanded.

James was silent a moment before he nodded slowly in acceptance. "You caught me. My parents sent me some money and I bought you all that stuff. I don't want you using the crap the school claims is safe because you'll end up hurt on one of those brooms."

Ursula was still fuming, "Dammit Potter, if I wanted your bloody charity, then I would've asked for it!"

"No you wouldn't've!" James shot back. "You would have been your usual proud self and refused any sort of help."

"Because I don't need any!"

"Bull shit!" James shouted back. "You know what, I don't care if you're mad at me. You'll get over it sooner or later. If you have to imagine that it is an early Christmas or birthday present, then so be it! I'm not taking it back and that is final!"

Though James seemed to done with the conversation, Ursula wasn't. "I can't believe you would go behind my back and do this!"

James sighed, annoyed at her. He got out of bed and grabbed his cloak off the bed post, "Listen. I don't really understand the weird, twisted way you were raised, but friends help other friends in need. You need to step back and realize that you would have done what I did for everyone else in this room and in your own. You aren't some sort of burden that we just tolerate, you're my friend and that's that. Now, I need to go set up some fireworks for when we win tomorrow."

James waved at everyone before he threw the cloak around himself and disappeared. The only indication on where he was, was when the door opened and closed.

The next morning, Ursula struggled through breakfast in her Quidditch robes while James ate a slightly smaller version of the breakfast he always ate. He shoved the plate of toast towards her.

"Eat." He ordered before he took a sip of pumpkin juice.

Ursula nibbled at the toast and was actually able to eat a little bit before Jacob called the team away. Elyse watched her two friends walk out with the rest of the team.

"Do yeh's 'ink she's gonna be okay?" She asked the remaining boys.

Sirius nodded, "Definitely. Sissy's tougher than she looks."

Ursula felt the nerves gathering in her veins as she waited for the teams to be introduced. She tried not to show it but Jacob seemed to know how she was feeling. He walked over and clapped her on the shoulder twice, "Just do what you do at practice and you'll be fine. You're good. You can do this."

"AND INTRODUCING THE GRYFFINDOR QUIDDITCH TEAM!" The announcer shouted.

"That's our cue." Jacob mounted his broom before he soared out of the tunnel. The rest of the team followed suit. Ursula was nearly deafened by the roar of the crowd. The adrenaline coursed through her veins and for a moment, she felt invincible. The thrill of the game was already addicting to her and she couldn't even remember why she was so nervous a few minutes ago. This was truly the best, most exhilarating feeling in the world.

"BEATERS LIAM MCLAGGEN AND CORMAC ZIMMERMAN; THE LOVELY BUT TAKEN CLARA ROBERTS PLAYING SEEKER; EQUALLY HANDSOME AND EQUALLY TAKEN SEAN WOOD AS KEEPER; URSULA BLACK AND JAMES POTTER AS CHASERS; AND CAPTAIN JACOB SPINEEEEEEEET!" The announcer shouted over the roar of the crowd.

The next half an hour was a complete blur for Ursula. She remembers the plays they pulled and points she scored, but it felt like a dream. Everyone so often she would hear her or James's name being chanted by her year mates or she would hear the score announced; Gryffindor winning at each announcement.

What broke her out of her dream like state was a force that almost knocked her off her broom and caused her to drop the Quaffle. It didn't register at first but then the fiery pain shot up her leg and she cried out in pain. Ursula knew that she had just been hit by a bludger and her leg was definitely broken. The booing from the crowd told her that she was probably fouled. It turns out the chaser behind her grabbed her broom stick and pulled her back just enough that the bludger hit her.

Flying was now next to impossible as the pain was starting blind her. Every single movement she made caused searing, white hot pain to shoot up her leg. It was getting to the point of being unbearable when Clara pulled out of a dive with her fist in the air in victory.

Ursula in relief, almost crashed her broom as she landed. She fell down onto the pitch and closed her eyes and let the roar of the crowd fill her. The feeling of pure joy spread through her body at her first victory. Ursula was pulled up by two members of her team before James swept her up in a hug. He spun her around a couple of times while yelling out in victory.

"WE WON!" He shouted.

"WE DID IT!" She shouted back and kissed him on the cheek.

"How does it feel?" He quested out over the noise.

"Bloody fantastic," she replied breathlessly as she kept all her weight on one foot. James smirked and pulled her arm around his shoulders to help her balance. With his free hand, he pulled out his wand.

"Good to know," he said before, with a wave of his wand, he set the sky on fire with brilliant fireworks of red and gold that exploded from behind the Gryffindor section. Out of the Gryffindor pillar, a red and gold lion appeared and roared.

Ursula had to admit that even though it had been a rough week and he leg was painfully broken, it was the happiest week of her life.

* * *

_So see that fancy new little box that is right below this? Yeah, that one right there. Leave a review. Please. It's even less work than before. It really does boost a writer's esteem when they get reviews so that helps them write faster. Oh, also, don't forget about that poll to vote in! It's still open if you want to vote or if you want to leave your answer in a review, feel free!_


	14. Reconnected Families

After Gryffindor's win against Ravenclaw, time seemed to fly by. November froze away into December as a thick blanket of snow covered the grounds. The freezing temperatures made it almost impossible for anyone to be outside for more than half an hour at a time. Even Care of Magical Creatures had been moved inside the first week of December. Every night after Quidditch practice the rest of the gang would be waiting for James and Ursula, who would return partially blue and with their hands shaking horribly and their teeth chatters so hard they couldn't talk, to wrap them in blankets and to give hot chocolate.

The practice, no matter how torturous, paid off when they flattened Slytherin in a hug upset match. Slytherin had beat Hufflepuff by over five hundred points two weeks prior so the Gryffindor-Slytherin match was predicted to be close. The game ended with one of the biggest victory margins in Hogwarts History; 790 to 130. Jacob, in the week after, got seven offers from professional Quidditch teams from around the world, as did Clara. Everyone was impressed by this feat, even McGonagall who smiled more at James and Ursula than she ever had before.

On the morning of December 16th, there was a horrible blizzard and the snow completely covered some of the corridors with wide windows (the wind broke the glass) and in one of the corridor, the entire ceiling fell from the weight of the snow. Because of all the invading snow, it was so cold in the castle that the teachers had to cancel class because not only was it too cold, but they had to fix the school. Warming spells seemed to fix nothing and they didn't want any of the students getting sick. Thankfully, all of the Common Rooms were able to keep at their usual temperatures (The Gryffindors were exceptionally happy that their Common Room was always warm) so students were ordered back there once they ate breakfast.

Elyse was bundled up while sitting at the Gryffindor table while trying to keep the warm in her hands.

"You have to eat," Ursula said as she pushed a plate of warm pancakes in front of her friend.

Elyse shook her head, though it looked more like she was just shaking, "I-I-I'll eat l-l-late-later." She stuttered.

Ursula was about the respond when Sirius suddenly swore. He had been shaking so badly that while he was trying to cut his ham, he sliced open his finger. He stuffed his hand under his arm pit.

"Let me see that," Lily ordered from Ursula's side. Normally the girl would never sit with them willingly but they had all sardined themselves together at the table keep as warm as possible.

Sirius held out his shaking hand and she quickly said a charm that healed the cut. Noticing his blue hands, she demanded, "Where are your gloves."

He pointed to Elyse who had on two pairs of gloves, three scarves, two coats, a wool hat, and her school robes and was still shaking from cold. "She n-needed them more."

Lily's eyes filled with warmth at Sirius selfless act. Not even hesitating, she pulled off her Gryffindor scarf and quickly wrapped his hands with it. "You can't eat anything but it should keep you warm," she explained.

Sirius tried to give the scarf back but considering his hands were wrapped up like a mummy, he wasn't making much progress. Eventually he settled on smiling at her in thanks. James, who was put out by the object of his affections fawning over his best friend, decided it was time to get the attention back on him.

"Say Lily-Love, I'm cold. Maybe a kiss from you would warm me up," he suggested.

"Go to hell, Potter."

"Gladly. I hear it's warm there." He shuddered and rubbed his hands together.

Lily glared at him as fiercely as she could in the freezing temperatures. "You're an insufferable git, you know that right?"

"You remind me every day," He nonchalantly responded as he sipped on his now ice cold drink.

She looked like she wanted to take her wand out and hex James into the next century. Before it could escalate to that however, Peter spoke up, "C-c-can we go-go back t-t-to the Com-Common R-Room now?" He asked.

All the third year Gryffindors and a few second years huddling near them nodded and they moved as a large mass of people to their Tower. The second they stepped in, warmth filled their bones.

"D-d-d-do yeh's think if I j-jump in teh, in teh fire, I'd warm oop quicker?" Elyse stuttered as she looked greedily at the fire's dancing flames.

"You might get burnt," Remus said.

"Or you might b-burn the fire because you're smokin'!" Sirius teased. Elyse smirked (and flushed a bright red) and was about to respond but whatever she said was cut off by a series of very loud sneezes.

"Excuse me!" The entire Common Room went silent and the only noise was the howling from the wind. McGonagall was standing in the Portrait hole entrance and was just a bundled up as the rest of her students. "Due to the storm, many of the owls have not been able to get to the castle and they have landed in the owlry in Hogsmeade. The first batch of letters just got through today. When I call your name, please come forward to accept your mail. Mary MacDonald!"

The list went on and on as every parent seemed to send a letter to their child wondering how they were holding up in the horrible weather. James's mother also included short letters for the twins and one passed on from Alphard whose personal owl had recently passed. The twins were surprised however when McGonagall called out, "Ursula and Sirius Black!"

They shared a look before Sirius got up and grabbed the letter. He looked at the letter in confusion a moment before he smiled widely and rushed back to his sister. He thrust the letter into her hands. "It's from Ted and Andy!"

Ursula tore open the envelope and pulled out a picture and a letter. The letter read,

_Dear Sirius and Ursula,_

_We promised we would write you when Dromeda had the baby and we kept our promise! Meet your new cousin, Nymphadora (Dromeda picked the name- just call her Dora) Tonks was born on December 10__th__ at 10:18 in the morning. She's quite a special girl; just look at the picture._

_I hope that you two are safe at Hogwarts- keep warm! I don't want Dora to never get to meet her cousins because they turned into popsicles._

_With Love,_

_Ted_

_P.S. Ursula, I thought you would like to know Dora's full name is Nymphadora Ursula Tonks. Dromeda says it's family tradition to pick the middle name of someone you wish the child to be like. _

Ursula quickly looked at the picture after reading only the first paragraph. It seemed to be a picture of a perfectly normal little baby that had the traditional Black hair, but then the baby opened her eyes and squirmed. The hair color changed to green. Then once more to purple before it went back to black and they cycle repeated. Ursula eyes widened in realization when she realized what her new cousin was, "She's a metamorphmagus!" She said in shock.

"What?" Sirius asked as he quickly snatched the picture out of her hands.

"Andy had the baby; it was a girl. And the baby's a metamorphmagus!" She said pointing at the picture.

The friends gathered over Sirius's shoulder to look at the picture.

"Aww, she's adorable," Elyse softly cooed when she saw the baby.

"What's the baby's name?" Remus asked again.

Ursula quickly checked the letter again and her jaw dropped when she saw the post script, "Nymphadora Ursula Tonks."

Remus nodded at the obscure name, "Nymphadora," he repeated.

Elyse gasped and felt herself falling as she was pulled into an unexpected vision.

_There were two figures underneath the sheets illuminated by the half moon coming through the windows. The figure on the right turned over three times before she finally propped her head up on her arm. She reached over and shook the shoulder to the other figure._

"_Remus, Love, are you awake?" She whispered._

_The other figure turned over and held her hand, "What's wrong? Is the baby okay?" He asked her, his free hand going instantly to her stomach under the sheets._

"_The baby's fine, don't worry."_

"_But you're worried." It wasn't a question. He grabbed his wand and silently lit the lights. Now the woman's bright bubblegum pink hair was illuminated._

_She nodded and laced her fingers through the older Remus's, "I'm worried about them. I know you said that you saw Harry a month ago and he was fine, but people die in an instant! He could be dead for all we know! And my cousin's out there and she could be dead! We already lost Sirius in this war; I'm not losing her too!" She practically cried._

"_Nymphadora Ursula Tonks," Remus said passionately, "I made a promise to two of my closest friends many years ago and I don't intend to break it. If Harry was killed, then Vol-"_

"_Remus!" Nymphadora hit him on the arm._

"_He-who-shall-not-be-named," he corrected himself, "would be flaunting it. And I promise that this little one's godmother will make it back to be in his or her life."_

_Nymphadora's eyes filled with tears and her hair turned a soft pink, "Godmother," she asked. _

_Remus nodded, "There is no other person on this Earth that I would want to be my child's godmother."_

Elyse snapped out the vision and doubled over laughing. They all looked at her like she was insane. Through her squinty eyes, she could see Remus holding the picture of his future wife and that just sent her into another round of laughter.

* * *

Later that night, they gathered in the boy's room. Sirius had pulled Elyse onto his bed and kept his arm loosely wrapped around her waist. Ursula had given her a look at was lost on the other boys. The look clearly said, 'we will _definitely_ talk about this later.' Sirius paid no mind to his sister and seemed to be holding onto Elyse almost subconsciously.

Ursula was standing and leaning against one of the end posts of James's bed. "What are you lazy sods doing for Christmas? She asked.

"I'm staying home," was both Peter's and James's answer.

"My cousins are having Christmas this year," Remus said.

"I'm staying with Annabelle and Gideon this year to check out their new house. They just bought a house in Ottery St. Catchpole and since my parents are visiting Canada to visit the Canadian Minister, I'm staying with Anna."

Ursula turned towards Elyse, "What about you?"

Elyse shrugged, "Me mam's having me aunt over fer dinna on Christmas Eve, otherwise, noothin."

"Perfect," Ursula said. "Uncle Alphard wrote Sirius and I and invited everyone over to his house the day after Christmas. It can't be the rest of the break, kind of like Remus's last year. Does that sound good?"

James nodded, "That sounds like a plan. Then the two of you would come back to my house with me. At least, that's what my mom said." He said as he held up a letter. He then just seemed to notice Ursula was standing, "Why the hell are you standing?" He asked before he dove forward on his bed and threw his arm around her waist and yanked her onto his bed.

She yelped in shock and reflexively pushed him away. He fell against his pillows while Ursula settled towards the end of the bed. She glared him but he just stuck his tongue out at her. She blew raspberries at James and it just escalated from there.

Remus rolled his eyes at their antics while Peter egged on James. Ben just raised an eyebrow and felt his chest constrict tightly when James left Ursula in a fit of laughter. His eyes flashed to the glimpse of the picture he had seen in Potions, though he had no idea why. Ursula was his best friend; that was it, right?

The girls stayed in the room for only twenty more minutes before a prefect knocked on the door and announced that the girls needed to get out. Once back in their room, Ursula immediately pounced on Elyse.

"So, you and Sirius huh?" Ursula asked nonchalantly.

Elyse blushed, "It's nutin'." Elyse said.

Ursula raised her eyebrow, "His arm around you wasn't nothing," she teased.

"So woot aboot you 'n Ben? Yeah, Alice 'n Marlene told me all aboot 'hat." Elyse said victoriously.

Once the tables turned on her, Ursula immediately shut down. Elyse smirked in victory and climbed into bed.

Two weeks later, the cold snap broke and the castle returned to its usual warmth. They were bundled up as they trekked through the knee high snow. Once they were all set on the train, they went straight to their compartment. The train ride home went quickly and after promising to write each other to finalize their Christmas plans, they went their separate ways to their families.

Elyse scanned the crowd until she found her fellow red-headed roommate, "LILY!" she shouted to get her attention.

Lily spun around and smiled when she saw Elyse. "Ready to go?" She asked gesturing towards the barrier.

Unable to hold back her excitement, Elyse ran towards to barrier with Lily at her side. Elyse missed her family so badly that she felt like a part of her was missing. As much as she loved her friends, none of them really understood. Ursula and Sirius had each other, Ben's sister was always just an owl away, and the rest of them were only children. She was lucky when she wrote to her parents and they figured out how to attach a letter back.

She closed her eyes as she passed through the barrier and when she opened them, she was in the bustling King Cross Station. There were hundreds of people running around so they could try to catch the train they so desperately needed to catch. But none of those people mattered. Standing around a pillar near Platform 9 stood her family. Little Sean saw her first.

"WEESIE!" He shouted as he ran towards her. Elyse dropped all of her stuff and knelt down to catch her little brother. She wrapped her arms tightly around her brother's small body and lifted him from the ground. Burying her face in Sean's soft blonde hair, she whispered, "I missed yeh,"

"I wove yeh too," he mumbled into her neck.

Another impact hit her in the legs and she was almost thrown backwards.

"I missed yeh too!" Jack shouted indignantly into her legs.

Elyse heard Lily laughing from behind her but she didn't really think much of it. Her mother walked forward and wrapped her arm around her only daughter's shoulders and kissed the top of her head in greeting. Her dad gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before he went to pick up her stuff that she discarded.

In the slightly cold station, Elyse felt warmth spread from her heart outwards. She was home.

* * *

_So there you go. This update was a little bit quicker than the last two but it is a little shorter. This is for two reasons. I am going to be going out of town for a little bit and I am feeling the beginning of writer's block coming on again. I know you guys are probably getting sick of me getting writer's block, but there is a lot of stuff planned for fourth year on that I think will shock you. The only problem is, it has to start fourth year; third year is the least important out off all the years of this story. _

_So I would like to ask a little bit of help. This is going to be one of the last times that the story isn't going to be set in stone so if you want to see something happen, then you need to let me know. Let your imaginations run free with ideas and review or pm me if you have one that you think is absolutely brilliant. If I use the idea, I will give you credit for it! Either that, or critique the heck out of this. I need some direction right now so the more brutally honest (in a good way!) you can be, the better._


	15. Baptism by Fire

Elyse had been home exactly two days before an owl decided to attack her window at six in the morning. Grumbling about how owls were pets of the devil, she opened her window to let the bird and the cold air in. The bird she recognized as Thalia, the bird Mrs. Potter gave to the Black twins as a birthday gift last year, flew in and landed on the bed. She hooted once before dropping the letters on the bed and flying over to the desk chair to preen herself. Elyse snatched the letters and glared at the bird.

The first one was definitely not sent originally sent by neither of the Blacks. The writing was distinctly James's.

_-Friend_

_This is a chain letter. Once you read it, sign the bottom and send it to someone that hasn't received it yet. Make sure you DO NOT send it to Remus. _

_I know that we have had limited success with the Patronus Charm. While some of us have been able to make whisps of smoke, I can say that since I have been home, I asked my dad for some help (asking under the pretense that I wanted to protect myself from dementors) and I was able to make a full corporeal patronus; it's a stag. _

_Ben – I suggest asking your dad for the same help. Or ask Annabelle, she's an auror and aurors are required to know how to do this. Your dad is probably the best to ask for this but you can't be suspicious. If he even thinks we are doing something illegal, the last thing we need is the Minister of bloody Magic ridding our asses. Be subtle. _

_Sirius/Ursula – Don't ask your parents. Maybe go check out your home library if there is some old, banned book that explains it in more detail than the books at Hogwarts. Try not to do anything __too__ illegal. No drawing attention to yourself; your parents and brother is insane and I don't want you two to show up at my house looking like you should be dead. If you do, I'll kill you myself._

_Peter – Don't, I repeat DON'T do __anything__. You'll end up killing yourself or someone else by accident. We'll help you when you get back to Hogwarts. If you must do something, just think of your happy memory but don't get to happy. You get a little…giggly when you're happy and that is suspicious. _

_Elyse – Same thing as Peter but for a different reason. You're not in a wizard household. If you're caught doing under age magic, you'll be kicked out of Hogwarts and that is NOT what we need to do to help Remus. Knowing him, he would blame himself for you getting expelled if he ever caught wind of the plan. Maybe just practice the wand motion and verbal? Letting the memory fill you probably won't hurt either._

_The main thing that is hold you guys back is the happy memory. That is what it was for me. It can't just be any little happy memory like getting an O on the test or getting Minnie to smile at one of our jokes. This has to be the best bloody moment of your life. Now, if you don't have a brilliant moment, then go out over break and get a happy damn memory._

_I'll check your progress when we meet up for Christmas. If I even suspect you haven't been practicing, HEADS WILL ROLL!_

_Have a nice Christmas._

_-James_

Below that were the signatures of Ben, followed by Peter, and most recently, both Blacks. Elyse rolled her eyes at James's message but made a mental note to do what he said. The second letter was from Ursula and after reading the contents, Elyse's heart went out to her best friend.

_Dear Elyse,_

_It is horrible. We were about to leave the Station when my mother and father showed up with Regulus. Uncle Alphard and my mother got into it and while they were arguing, my father side along apparated us to the house. Now we are bloody stuck in this bloody house full of bloody wankers and I bloody hate it!_

_We will make it for Christmas; hell of high waters we will be at my Uncle's house the day after Christmas._

_I hope your break is going better than mine. _

_Ursula_

Elyse had just sat down to write a response when her mother opened the door. "Elyse, we're goin' teh 'ead inte town. Want teh come wit us?" She asked. Then she started as her eyes fell upon the owl. "Whose is 'hat?" She asked.

"It's Ursula's. I'll come teh town wit you." Elyse said as she stood up.

Her mother had walked forward and was now gently running her fingers through Thalia's feather. Thalia seemed to relish in the attention as she rubbed her hand against Colleen O'Brian's hand.

"Aren't yeh a gorgeous owl?" she cooed. She then addressed her daughter, "We's leavin 'n five minutes. I'll get 'his owl a wee sometin' teh eat before we leave."

Twenty minutes later Elyse was trailing behind her mother in the main street of Kiltimagh. It was getting colder and colder by the minute and all Elyse wanted to do was curl up by the fire back at home while writing her letter. Deciding not to last time, she decided to take James's advice and discreetly started to practice the wand motion with her hand and muttering the spell under her breath. As she did this, she thought off all of the happiest memories she had. There was one time when she was seven and Timmy O'Malley told her that she was the prettiest girl in the whole town. Then that same day, he asked her to be his 'bride' and they were married at recess by Connor Burns, whose father was the town's priest. But the happiness was killed by a vision she had a few months later of an older Timmy being killed in a car crash when he was in his early twenties.

"Elyse O'Brian!" a loud voice shocked her out of her thoughts, "Look who's back from teh dead!"

Elyse spun around and looking into the dancing blue eyes of Patrick Finnigan. "Patty," she said with a smile as she embraced him.

He laughed heartily and shook his head, "It's just Pat now. Patty's a wee bit babyish."

Elyse had to admit that he no longer looked like that Patty she went to school with. He was no longer the chubby boy with too long, wavy, sandy colored hair. He always used to have crooked teeth and his chubby cheeks reminded her of a squirrel. But now his face had thinned out, making him look older and his teeth were straight. His hair was cut shorter with only a few wisps of curls around his ears and near the nape of his neck. Elyse felt a blush spread across her face. He was a mighty attractive bloke.

"How've yeh been?" He asked, "We all wondered where teh heck yeh disappeared to. Your mam told me mam it's some boarding school 'n Scotland?" He asked as they walked.

She nodded, "Yeah, I go teh school in Scotland."

"Woot fer?" He asked with genuine curiosity.

"Me grandmum knows teh headmaster 'nd she got me in. It's a school fer aspiring writers."

That was the lie that her mother had told the rest of the town when Elyse suddenly disappeared from the primary school. Kiltimagh was a small town and the only time a kid stops going to school is when the family moves. But when her family stayed and she disappeared the neighbors became suspicious. Thinking quickly, her mother feed them that story and they all seemed to buy it.

He smiled widely at that, "That's wicked! I always knew yeh's brilliant!"

Elyse blushed at the comment. "Thanks Patrick," she said.

He shrugged, "I'm just speakin' teh truth." Pat was silent a moment as the slowly walked down the street. Her mother had noticed them walking and talking so she had pushed ahead to give them a little space.

Pat opened his mouth and closed it a few times, like he really wanted to say something. Elyse was just about to tell him to spit it out when he began, "Elyse." He said as he came to a stop near the park, "I know tis is goin teh be a little bit forward ov me but I've got teh ask. Yeh see, I've always fancied yeh, even back when we's were eleven. Nootin 'as changed. So I was wonderin if yeh would eva' want teh maybe grab a bit teh eat in town while yeh's on break?" When he finished he shuffled his feet and stuffed his hand in the pockets. He also had looked everywhere except for Elyse but when he finished, he looked straight into her eyes and immediately he panicked when he saw her frozen look.

She stared at him as if he was a being from another planet. She could feel her heart thudding painfully in her chest as she looked into his painfully hopeful eyes, waiting for her to respond. Instantly, Sirius's face flashed into her mind but just as quickly it disappeared. Sirius saw her only as a friend and if anything more, it was as his twin's best friend. No matter what, she was off limits to him and they would never be able to work. If she wanted to be honest, she had not given Pat Finnigan a single thought in the last three years since and even before then, she never imagined going on a date with him. But a lot had changed in those three years…

While that battle was being fought in Elyse's head, Pat's shoulders slumped forward. He took her silence as a no and instantly started to apologize, "I'm sorry. Yeh's only been back in toon aboot a day and here I am shoving all ov tis at yeh. I get it; yeh's probably 'ave a boyfriend up at yeh's fancy boardin' school. I knew I didn't stand a chance. Sorry," he apologized once more before he stuffed his hands farther into his pocket and started walking back down the street with his head hanging in dejection.

Elyse stayed in her same spot. She had fancied Sirius for the last three years and he had yet to do anything. Here was a nice bloke that had fancied her for more than four years and he asked her on a date. Her mind made up, Elyse snapped out of her trance and started running in the direction Pat had disappeared.

"PAT!" She shouted down the street.

Patrick spun around and his eyes looked hopeful as she came to a skidding halt in front of him. She smiled at him and said, "I would love teh go oot wit yeh some time."

His eyes brightened and a goofy smile spread across his face, "Really?" He asked.

She nodded and laughed a little, "Yeah, yeh big goof," she said as she swatted at the yarn ball dangling from the top of his head. He laughed and ducked her playful swat.

"So it's a date?" He asked.

She nodded, "It's a date."

Just then a shrill voice shouted from down the street, "PATRICK MICHAEL FINNIGAN!"

Pat winced, "That's me mam. I goot teh go. I'll call yeh later wit teh details!" He shouted as he started to walk backwards towards his mother.

"Bye!" She shyly waved back.

Later that night, Elyse was sitting at her desk writing a letter to Ursula. It was not the letter she had planned on writing that morning. No, this letter was all about how she had given up on Sirius being anything more than a friend and that she wasn't going to pass up a date with one of the nicest blokes she knew. In the rest of the letter, Elyse described Pat and about the lunch plans they had made for the following afternoon.

When Ursula got the letter the next morning, a sly smile spread across her face. She had warned her brother that if he didn't act soon with Elyse, someone else was going to come along and swipe of her off her feet. He hadn't taken to advice, thinking that Elyse was off limits to the other guys at Hogwarts because of her friendship with the boys. He forgot to take into consideration the boys in her muggle town where none of them had the fear of God instilled upon them when they cross Sirius Black.

Sirius wasn't going to be happy about this…

* * *

The date that Pat had set up went extremely well by Elyse's standards. They had spent the whole afternoon talking and laughing and it felt wonderful. While Elyse did love her new friends, there was something familiar about Pat that made her feel at home unlike anyone at Hogwarts could. The next three days, they met up at the local fruit peddler before they would go off to the park or to wander around the main street.

Pat told her stories of her former classmates that left her doubled over laughing. In turn, she told him edited versions of the mischief that she and the rest of her friends got into at Hogwarts. A spark of guilt ignited in Elyse's chest as she lied to him, but by law, she could not tell him anything. He didn't suspect anything was amiss with her stories though. He seemed completely enamored by them and entertained by their exploits.

They had just started walking back from the park holding hands when an unnatural chill spread through the air. Elyse froze and looked up at the sky that was rapidly turning black. Soon, it was so dark that the street lamps turned on.

'Weird weather, eh?" Pat asked as he gently tugged Elyse forward.

Elyse just nodded her head but discreetly put her free hand in her pocket to tightly grasp her wand. Something was wrong and the tightening in her stomach made her feel like she wanted to throw up. A feeling of dread spread throughout her entire body and every single vision of someone dying flashed through her head like a picture book. She groaned and fell against the wall, grabbing her head. Patrick was immediately at her side, "Are you okay?" He asked.

She was about to respond when she saw it. Her heart jumped to her throat and her mind went completely blank. Floating down the middle of her town, were three Dementors that were sucking in all the happiness. Her eyes widened and her vision unfocused and refocused. She was completely frozen in the spot and she left like she couldn't move, couldn't breathe. "Pat," she whispered harshly. "Run. Run home." She ordered.

Pat looked confused on top of his depressed look, "What?"

She didn't have any time to argue this with him. One of the floating figures turned its hooded head towards them. It slowly inched forward while a Dementor grabbed Miss Lamb, the local book keeper, and started to suck out her soul. Elyse heard only fuzz in her mind and almost puked on the spot when she saw the disgusting, vile mouth under the hood.

Patrick tugging her arm snapped her out of her catatonic state. She whipped her wand out and shouted the incantation, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" A small silver wisp shot of her wand. It was enough to drive the Dementor back a couple of feet but it that just made it angrier it seemed.

"Woot teh hell!" Patrick shouted next to her, "Woot teh bloody 'ell are yeh doin'?"

She didn't have time to respond. She thought about all of her happy memories to try to override the horrible visions/memories the depressing creatures made her feel. It felt like part of her soul was dying but she let her memory consume her.

Mustering all of her magic and positive thoughts, she tried the spell again, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

This time, a small hare shot out of the end of her wand and chased away the closest Dementor and the one sucking the soul out of the grocer. Now all three (the third one had finished off Miss Lamb) turned towards Elyse and went after her.

The fight or flight instinct kicked in and Elyse sprinted down the street with the Dementors right behind her. Thoughts of her having her soul sucked out plagued her mind and she had to wonder, is this how it is going to end? Having your soul sucked out at 14? Is this really how she would meet her end?

Elyse made it to the end of the street and into a small field where she fell into the snow to catch her breath. Stealing a quick look behind her, she saw that she was safe and let her head fall back in relief. She was alive. Barely five seconds later, a terrified scream came from the village which was quickly followed by more and more screams and a thought hit Elyse like a ton of bricks. She was in Gryffindor and yet here she lay like a scared little Slytherin while people she had known her whole life were having their souls sucked out by something they couldn't see. Determination and recklessness swelled in her heart and in that moment, her resolve was rock solid.

She scrambled to her feet and sprinted back into town. It felt like her lungs were on fire but it didn't matter; they needed her. When she got to the scene of the carnage, there were now at least eight Dementors and fifteen people lying on the ground with unmoving, glassy eyes. Gathering all the courage she possessed, she raised her wanted and said, "Expecto Patronum!"

The hare shot out in front of her again and chased away the closest Dementors. At that moment, though, she realized why the screaming started. There were cloaked figures wearing masks destroying the village. They followed the Patronus and looked at Elyse standing alone in the middle of the street. She froze a second before she saw her mother cowering behind a fallen vegetable stand holding Sean close to her body. In an instant, Elyse realized that Jack was missing and any sense of self preservation left her.

There were two pops behind her and suddenly there was an ox and an eagle charging down the street and knocking away the other Dementors. Elyse spun around to look at her saviors and she looked into the cold blue eyes of an extremely scary looking man. He winked at her before he engaged battle with one of the Death Eaters.

"GET OUT OF HERE!" The other male Auror said as he put up a shield in front of the two of them. There were more pops as more and more wizards on both sides joined the battle. Elyse saw Frank Longbottom sprint past her to stop a Death Eater from killing a three year old child and she saw Annabelle appear in a brilliant white smoke before shooting off a stunner at one of the Death Eaters.

"Elyse! What the hell?" Annabelle shouted as she tackled Elyse from getting hit with a green curse. "Get out of here!" She ordered.

"Me brother's 'ere. I can't leave 'im!" She said as she scrambled to her feet and started running down the street. Annabelle tried to grab her but a Death Eater engaged her in a duel so she had to let her little brother's friend go. She knew that if something happened to Elyse and Ben found out, he would never speak to her again.

Elyse frantically searched everywhere she could think of to find Jack. He was a red head just like her so he theoretically should have been easy to find. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Her little brother was nowhere to be seen.

She was going so fast that when an explosion caused a tree to fall right in her path, she slid underneath it and ignored the painful splinters embedded in her legs. Just visible in the smoke, was Jack who had been hiding in the top of the tree the entire time. Elyse snatched him up and held him protectively in her arms and started running back to her mother. Since Jack was a little bit older and bigger than Sean, she had to use both arms to hold him up. That was her first mistake.

An explosion threw her forward and she quickly turned in the air so she didn't land on her brother. "Jack, are yeh alright?" She asked frantically.

The little boy was coughing but he nodded. She got to her feet and started running back to where she last saw her mother, adrenaline rushing through her veins. She was sure at that point, that was the only thing keeping her from feeling her cuts and bruises.

"Mam!" She shouted when she finally got back to where her mom was. The fight had moved a little farther down the street so she quickly handed her brother away. "Go back home! I'll beh 'ere soon," she promised, leaving no room for argument. Her mom nodded, knowing that she needed to trust her daughter in this situation. She kissed her mom on the cheek and Sean and Jack on the top of their heads before her mother went running up the path back to the house. Elyse watched for a moment before her mom disappeared behind the tall grass.

She turned and ran back into the thick of things to see if she could get any of her muggle friends out of the way before they were killed. She saw a little girl crying next to her dead mom, a woman Elyse recognized as the local postmaster's wife. She reached out to pull the child to safety when a cutting curse hit Elyse right in the middle of her upper arm.

Elyse flew back in shock and when her eyes fixated on the crimson blood gushing from her body, the world spun a little bit. It was a surreal experience, Elyse decided, seeing the thing that gives you life leaving your body. It was almost like she was a bystander that was just watching this unfold. Her arm wasn't sliced open; it was someone else.

Then the pain hit.

It was the absolute worst pain she had ever felt in her life. It felt like someone had taken a red hot burner and stabbed her in the arm with it. She fell back to the ground writhing in pain and frantically grabbing at her arm. She screamed and sobbed in pain and just wished for it all to end. The sounds of the fighting faded away; whether from the fight actually ending or her mind blocking it out, Elyse couldn't tell you. Vaguely, she heard a stampede of footsteps running towards her.

Brown eyes and red hair were all she could see. "ANGLINGTON!" Annabelle shouted behind her, "GET OVER HERE!"

Annabelle tightly grabbed Elyse's hand and tried to calm the screaming girl, "Elyse, Elyse, it's alright. Anglington went to school to be a healer for a bit; he'll patch you up."

"I don't want teh die," Elyse sobbed.

Annabelle gave her a look of pure confidence, "You're not going to die. Do you understand me?" The tone of her voice left no room for argument. Elyse looked straight into Annabelle's eyes and tried to quell the panic in her stomach.

"Me mum and little brothers…" She said and started hyperventilating. She didn't know if the Death Eaters got to them while they tried to get back to the house. They could have easily followed them into the tall grassy area and killed them all while she didn't notice. Maybe they had already been hit with a curse and they never made it to the house. What if-

"Elyse look at me," Annabelle ordered. Out of the corner of Elyse's eye, she saw another auror kneeling next to her healing her arm. But the panic and worry for her family fully consumed her. She frantically tried to turn her head to look up at her house as if the answer would be declared over her house.

Annabelle gently slapped her cheeks. "Kid, calm down. Match my breathing," she ordered.

It took a minute but Elyse eventually calmed down and continued taking deep breaths. It also didn't hurt that her arm was now completely healed except for the pink scar on her arm. Anglington said something Annabelle before he jogged back to where the rest of the aurors were.

Elyse was about to ask where her family was when Annabelle beat her to it, "Frank went up to get your family. This wasn't just some random attack; this town was targeted. You're the only witch in the whole area so we don't want to take any chances. We're moving you and your family to a safe house until we figure out this mess, alright? You'll meet your family at the house in a minute, alright?"

Relief spread through Elyse's body. Her family was with Frank Longbottom; they were safe. She sat up and groaned as her badly bruised back protested painfully. She winced at the tingling of her legs. Looking down, it looked like she got into a kicking fight with the Whomping Willow and lost.

Annabelle hissed when she saw the bark and the bits of blood splattering her clothes. With a quick wave of the wand, the wood disappeared and a cooling sensation calmed the burning on her legs. Annabelle offered her hand to Elyse and helped pull her to her feet but she didn't let go. "Don't let go of my hand," she instructed

Then suddenly, Elyse felt like she was being squeezed through a tiny pipe. Her chest compressed and it felt like she couldn't move and just as quickly as it happened, it was gone. When she opened her eyes, she instantly recognized the foyer she now stood in. The voices coming from the kitchen abruptly stopped and there was the sound of chairs scraping across the ground.

"Annabelle?" Frank called out from the kitchen.

"It's me. Elyse is here!" she called back. There was a scrambling of feet and Elyse was surrounded by her entire family. Elyse quickly made sure that they were fine and they did the same to her. Mrs. Potter walked out of the kitchen and smiled at the family reunion but she walked over and gently placed a hand on Elyse's shoulder.

"Annabelle said that you had some cuts on your legs? I can fix that right up," she said. Mrs. Potter had just opened the door when Elyse was suddenly crushed against a rock solid and slightly boney figure. Elyse easily recognized the person as James and she gently yelped in pain as his arm pushed against her back. He leaned down and whispered in her ear.

"If you ever – _ever_ – scare me like that again, Voldemort won't have the chance to kill you because I'll do it for him." He harshly whispered into her hair.

He released her from his death grip and he cupped her face with his hands, looking her dead in the eye, and he kissed her forehead in a brotherly manner before hugging her again, "Don't scare me like that again." He said as he rocked her side to side a little bit. "Promise me."

"I promise," she muttered against his chest. She could feel him nodding before he let her go. James smiled crookedly for a moment before he said, "Nice job on the Patronus by the way. I wonder who the brilliant teacher that taught you was?" He winked at her before he walked up the stairs and said that he would write letters to the rest of their friends so when they saw the Prophet in the morning, they wouldn't assume the worst.

Mrs. Potter helped Elyse into the kitchen and led her to one of the chairs. She sat next to her and gently rolled up her jeans. Once the cuts and bruises were visible, she began her work. After a moment, she started softly talking, "You know, there have only been a few times I have ever seen my son so worried. The most recent time being two summers ago when Sirius and Ursula weren't responding to any owls."

"Woot do yeh mean?" Elyse asked.

Mrs. Potter chuckled slightly, "I know James likes to think that he is as tough as nails and that nothing gets to him, but he is the biggest worrier I've ever met. The second that the rest of your family showed up with Frank and your mother said that you had run off to join the fight, James cursed you three ways to Wednesday. He kept on asking us if you had a death wish and why, I quote "the hell does she have to be such a bloody Grfyffindor" before Frank was able to calm him down."

"Really?" Elyse asked surprised.

She nodded, "James is always worried that something will happen to one of you when you aren't together. Besides the Blacks, for obvious reasons, I think you are the one he worries most about mainly because of days like today."

Elyse chuckled dryly, "I hope 'here no more days like teday."

"Me too, dear. Me too."

Later that night, Elyse laid down to sleep in the room she spent two Christmases ago. In the silence of the room, the full impact of that day's events hit Elyse and she broke down into soft sobs for all the people in Kiltimagh who would have their memories altered and have false memories as to how their lose loved ones died or kissed by Dementors.

It wasn't fair; she realized, that those people were killed just because they lived in the same town as her. Elyse had to wonder, did Pat get out? Had the Ministry wiped her from all of his memories? The blood was on her hands; she literally should have seen it coming.

But then there was a slight tightening on her shoulder and she thought to the gash that was now a fresh scar; the falling building; Annabelle tackling her to avoid the Killing Curse. The amount of times that she could have died that day finally hit her and a strangled sob escaped her lips.

It just wasn't fair.

* * *

_This, this is what happens when I get inspiration. This honestly has to be one of my favorite chapters. This event alone and the repercussions of it is going to carry us through third year people! This is ridiculously awesome and only possible because of the fantastic reviewers who I drew upon to write this chapter. _

_I also realized that part of my problem with third year was I was trying to make it too happy. I wanted one year without someone dying or getting sick or getting injured but that isn't this story. This time period was full of dark magic and death and to try to ignore that would be an insult to the whole HP universe. _

_I hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it._


	16. Breaking the News

_Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter! It was the highlight of my week to see all of your praise and I'm sure I was blushing as bright as a tomato and smiled like a goof for the next five minutes. Thank you so, so, much. I hope that you enjoy this chapter as much as you liked the last one. This is going to be the friend's reaction when they get the news of what happened. Enjoy!_

_p.s. I don't own Harry Potter._

* * *

It was still dark when Annabelle apparated right at the front gate of her house at five in the morning. There was one light on in her house allowing her to easily see through the window. She sighed in contentment when she saw the familiar red hair through the window standing the in the kitchen. Just seeing him, all the feelings of the day melted away. In less than a minute, Annabelle walked through the front door of her house and followed the divine smell coming from the kitchen.

Gideon's back was to her so she just leaned against the doorway and watched her soul mate cook their dinner. There was something in the Prewitt's blood, Annabelle decided, that made all of them brilliant cooks. It was something that she discovered just after graduating Hogwarts when she moved in with the twins. She had attempted being the 'domestic woman' once to christen their new apartment in the heart of London. To say the least, the apartment was almost christened in flames. But surprisingly, the twins stepped up and made the best dinner she had ever had. From then on, one of the two boys always cooked every meal. Then, when she and Gideon got their own place, he took over all the meals.

It wasn't often that Annabelle got to see Gideon cook now a day. Ever since she started Auror training, their time together had become sporadic and unpredictable. But watching him, while he was completely unaware of her presence, Annabelle fell in love with him all over again. While cooking, he got into this zone and he told her that one time Fabian had exploded a dungbomb behind him and he didn't even notice. His shoulders were slightly hunched over the sauté pan he was mixing, stretching his cotton shirt over his shoulders and she couldn't help but think that he looked damn sexy cooking.

She walked forward and wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder. He turned and kissed her full on the mouth.

"Hello, Love," he said before turning back to what he was making. He froze and then quickly turned off the sizzling pan. He turned around completely and placed his hands on her hips and looked her dead in the eyes. "What happened?"

Her face must have given her away; he could read her like a book. It was unsettling for Annabelle to see her happy go lucky lover look so grim. "There was an attack in Kiltimagh earlier," she admitted. "Fifteen muggles had their soul sucked out by Dementors and nine were killed by Death Eaters. It was brutal."

Gideon moved his arms and wrapped them around her as he gently rocked her back and forth. A content sigh escaped her lips as he gently rocked her back and forth. In his arms, the entire world melted away. In his arms, she was safe. In his arms, she was _home_. He made her feel like all the walls she built up for the world crashed to the ground around him. She wasn't the sarcastic, hardass Quidditch playing Auror that was the daughter of the Minister. That was how everyone else saw her. But with Gideon, none of that ever mattered. She was just Annabelle.

Suddenly, Gideon stopped rocking her back and forth. "Wait, doesn't Ben's friend-"

"Elyse live there? Yeah. She's fine now but her arm got sliced open. Merlin, Gid, she almost died in my arm." She admitted in a soft voice as she remembered looking down at the small girl she remembered as a small first year almost bleeding to death.

He tightened his hold on her and kissed her forehead. He didn't say anything and Annabelle was forever thankful for that. She gently broke the embrace and went to sit down at the table. She placed her head in her hands and just sat there as Gideon finished cooking.

"There's something bothering you," Gideon said breaking the silence.

"No shit, I just killed a Death Eater and almost saw a fourteen year old girl die. Nothing's bothering me," she said sardonically.

Gideon snorted, "Someone's a ray of sunshine. Seriously, without being sarcastic, I know that is difficult for you to understand," he jokingly informed her which she responded with a rude hand gesture which caused him to laugh, "But seriously, what's wrong?"

"Dumbledore showed up after Elyse and Potter had gone to bed. It was just Frank and I and he told us that the attack was not random and he thinks that they targeted Elyse specifically."

"Why would Voldie target-"

"She's a seer, Gid. Dumbledore not taking any chances with Voldemort finding that out and he wants to get a spy in there to know what Voldemort knows. Albus doesn't think that he knows just yet about her skill but he's going to be after her joining his side soon."

"What?" Gideon asked, wondering what on Earth besides being a seer the fourteen year old could do that would make Lord Voldemort want her.

Annabelle chuckled, "I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it but she can produce a full corporeal patronus at the age of fourteen. She's powerful and muggleborn or not, Voldemort wants power; he thrives off of it."

"Well, shit."

There was nothing more to be said. The silence said it all. They sat in silence in the kitchen for the next two hours watching the sun rise.

"Oh, did I mention that Molly said she was going to come over with the kids this afternoon. Something about me not being a good uncle or some rubbish like that." Gideon said rolling his eyes as he waved his wand to clean up the kitchen.

Annabelle snorted, "She's only coming over here so she can try to convince me to marry you or at least give her a couple of nieces and nephews so her kids have some cousins their age."

"It's not for a lack of trying," Gideon said with a lewd smile as he tipped back Annabelle's chair a little so he could kiss her. It was barely ten seconds later when Ben loudly swung open the kitchen door only to see his older sister and her boyfriend snogging in the kitchen.

"Just what I want to wake up to. Please, get off the table; I eat there!," he grumbled.

Annabelle purposely ignored him and smiled against Gideon's lips. Gideon smirked and let go of her for a second before he grabbed her by the waist and lifted her onto the table.

Ben gagged and grabbed some tea, "I'll be in the living room trying to erase this mental image. If you make a baby, I call Godfather!" He shouted back as he disappeared into the living room, grabbing the Prophet off the counter without either adult noticing.

Gideon pulled back from the kiss for a brief moment before kissing her deeply causing her to moan embarrassingly loud as he pushed her back on the table. His hand had just started to venture up her top when there was a crash from the living room. They both abruptly pulled away.

"Ben?" Annabelle called.

There was no answer.

Sharing a terrified look for just one moment, they both reached into their pockets and pulled out their wands before scrambling out of the kitchen and into the living room.

"BENJAMIN!" Gideon shouted loudly.

They froze in the doorway of the living room when they saw the young boy sitting on the sofa with a broken glass next to him. His face was pale and his hand was shaking horribly as it tightly clutched onto the Prophet. When they came to a stop, Ben slowly turned his head and looked at them with eyes full of sorrow and anguish, "She's dead." He whispered horrified as if there was the possibility that if he said it softer, it wouldn't be true.

Annabelle swore and knelt down in front of her brother. She pushed the newspaper down and looked him straight in the eyes.

"Ben, she's fine. I was there, not this," Annabelle quickly looked at the newspaper article, "Rita Skeeter. I personally apparated Elyse to the Potters and she is there sleeping with the rest of her family under the protection of Dumbledore. You need to trust me on this one."

Ben literally sagged into the sofa cushions. He ran his hand over his face as he threw the article to the ground. "Why the hell would they say that?" he groaned.

"I think I know," Gideon spoke up from the doorway. "Apparently your friend made a corporeal patronus, which is impressive magic for a fully trained wizard, let alone a fourteen year old witch. Dumbledore might have suggested it because it would lead Voldemort to think that the witch is dead so he'll give up the hunt for her."

Throughout his explanation, Ben perked up at the mention of the patronus, "Elyse got the patronus charm?" He asked with a smile on his face. "What animal was it?" He asked excitedly.

Annabelle raised an eyebrow but answered none the less, "It was a hare. Why?"

Ben smiled mischievously, "No reason." He slapped his thighs lightly before he stood up, "You know what? I think I'll leave you two little love birds alone for a bit so you can work on my niece or nephew. I fancy writing a letter right now so I'll be up in my room. Call me when Molly and the kids gets here."

Gideon and Annabelle shared a look; her little brother was so weird.

* * *

Mrs. Pettigrew opened the door to Peter's room and threw open the curtains. "Come on, Petey, it's time to get up."

"I don't wanna," he muttered from under the covers of his bed.

She tutted before walked over to shake his foot. "I have breakfast on the table."

"No. Sleep."

Rolling her eyes, she went to her final resort, "You got a letter this morning from that James you always rave on and on about. It's sitting on the table."

The result was instantaneous. Peter sat straight up and tried to jump out of bed only to get stuck in the blankets and fall over on the cold hardwood floor. Awkwardly, he untangled himself (it took a bit of time) and the second he was free, he ran into the kitchen. Sitting on the table just in front of the chair he always sat at was indeed a letter with his name scrawled on it in James's hand writing.

Unable to hold back a squeal of excitement, he ripped open the letter.

_Peter,_

_Hey buddy, I know I just wrote you the other day but something has happened that you need to know about. Elyse's muggle town was attacked by Dementors and Death Eaters yesterday. She is safely at my house right now, along with the rest of her family. I'm telling you this because the Prophet is going to report that the witch in the village was killed because Dumbledore wants to protect Elyse and if they think she is dead, then they stop looking for her or something like that._

_They're after her because she was able to make a full bodied patronus! It was a hare so it was pretty wicked. Thankfully that is what saved her life. She is really damn lucky that she got the spell right under fire. We need to work more on it in the future if not to find out the shape for our plan but to protect ourselves. I know you've been having a problem with it, but I don't care if I have to work with you every single day until we graduate, I'm not letting you get your soul sucked out by Dementors. Got that?_

_That's really all. We'll be seeing each other in a few days. Christmas at Alphard Black is still on (I don't know if you got Sirius's letter or not) so you need to plan on that. Also, if you are interested, let me know if you want to come along for the possible Save-Blacks mission I have planned if they can't get out of their home by the day after Christmas._

_See you soon._

_James_

Peter looked at the letter once more and tried to absorb what he had just read. Elyse had almost died. He thought about going to Hogwarts without her and he found it impossible. He would miss her accent that made everything sound much more confusing but more fun at the same time, the Irish jigs she would randomly do in the hallway, her visions, her bright and curly read hair, and her brilliantly expressive green eyes.

He would definitely miss the eyes the most. They were beautiful.

* * *

Remus looked down at the letter sitting on his hand with concern building in his stomach. The only times they had ever owled each other during Christmas break was…never. So far, he had received post from both Sirius and Ursula on the same matter but in two separate letters so now he couldn't even fathom what James wrote him.

Pushing those thoughts to the side, he looked up from his breakfast and realized that his father hadn't joined them for breakfast yet.

"Mom, where's dad?"

His mother jumped and have him a weak smile, "There was another attack in a muggle village; it was really bad. Fifteen people had their souls sucked out and about another ten I think were killed. You're father had to go help alter the entire town's memory; everyone saw something."

There was something about her voice that instantly set warning bells off in his head, "You're not telling me something." He accused her.

She wrung her hands, "The attack was in Kiltimagh. That's where-"

"Elyse lives." Remus finished, horror filling every ounce of his being. Quickly, he realized that James's letter had to be about that; he grabbed the letter and tore it open.

_Moony,_

_Knowing you, you're already wondering what the heck happened and why I wrote you. If that is that case then I am going to have to reconsider our friendship if you think that I would never write you if I didn't have an ulterior motive. Can't a friend write another friend when they are about to see each other in a few days? We will have a long discussion about this when we are finally reunited, Moony!_

_Now that we have that out of the way, I would like to inform you that if you have read the Prophet (or your parents told you) that everything in there is one 100% true. Well, make it 99% true. The Prophet was actually quite factual (compared to a lot of other stories) but they got one tiny detail wrong. You see, they reported the witch in the town dead; a slight oversight. It is my duty as your friend to inform you that the red headed menace that we call our friend is quite alive and sleeping in the room across from me._

_I hope that you actually read this before you died of a heart attack. If not, then this is a waste of parchment and ink. Oh well. _

_See you in few days (if you're still alive that is- you worry too much. It's not good for your health)_

_James_

_P.S. If we need to, want to come on the rescue mission to get Sirius and Ursula out of their parents' home if they don't show up? It will be quite an adventure._

Remus simultaneously rolled his eyes and sighed in relief; Elyse was fine. Out of curiosity, he grabbed the Prophet that was still neatly folded on the table. He read the article and skipped over the parts about the deaths before reading about the battle. Remus smiled proudly for his friend when he read about the extraordinary magic she was able to achieve. They didn't mention was shape it took but for a Hogwarts student of any age to be creating a full corporeal patronus was impressive.

A peculiar thought hit Remus as he read the article. The smile slid off his face as he comprehended what he just read. Elyse had produced a full patronus before they were even taught what the spell did and how to create it. He knew that it wasn't some extra credit project or something for one of the teachers. They had never come across it in a book looking up stuff for pranks, at least to his knowledge, so that begged the question; why, and how, did Elyse know to make a patronus?

* * *

Sirius and Ursula's morning went quite different from their friends.

When they got up, they walked out of their doors simultaneously and looked at each other with pure contempt on their faces. They loathed this house. These last few days had been absolute torture. Sirius was now sporting a black eye and Ursula could still feel the sting of the hex her mother hurt her with the previous evening. But that was nothing like the psychological torture they received.

Hints about them never going back to Hogwarts; wishing death upon their friends; references to Alphard not being around much longer to protect them; plans to get them the Dark Mark before they turned sixteen; the threat of separating the twins permanently. It never ended.

"Ready?" Sirius asked her.

A feeling of foreboding settled in her stomach but she nodded anyway, "What's the worst they can do?"

Sirius just shrugged at the hypothetical question, "I'm sure they'll think of something."

They walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. The rest of the family was already there and they feel silent when the twins walked in.

Walburga had a nasty smirk on her face, "There you two disappointments are. I was just telling your precious brother here about Bellatrix's newest project for the Dark Lord. Where was I, Regulus?" She asked with a sickeningly sweet voice.

Ursula and Sirius both took hesitant seats at the table while Regulus looked over at them with an air of superiority. Sirius reached into his pocket to grab his wand but Ursula tightly grasped his wrist to stop him.

"You got to the part about the girl running away." Regulus informed his mother.

"Ah, yes, Bellatrix was quite descriptive with this part. The little mudblood ran away! Quite Gryffindor of her!" Walburga crackled. Sirius and Ursula had stiffened and looked at each other with wide eyes. But their mother continued, "Then she came running back and made a full bodied patronus! A stupid little hare according to Bella. That's when the Aurors showed up and that's when Bella lost sight of the little mudblood. Then, here's the best part, are you listening to me Orion?" She demanded.

Their father merely nodded and continued flipping through his papers. Walburga ignored him and continued with a malicious glint in her eye and she looked sadistically happy. Ursula could feel the thud of her heart against her chest as fears started running rampant in her mind.

"The mudblood was running back after saving her brother – stupid if you ask me but you can't expect more from mudbloods, they're stupid – she ran back to the fight to protect a little girl and Bella got her right in the arm with a severing curse. She was upset that she missed, she was aiming for the throat, but that White girl intervened and Bella's shot was a little off. It didn't matter though; the little mudblood died in White's arms. Serves her right, beseeching the name of wizards. You should talk to Bellatrix and her husband this Christmas more about this, Regulus. I'm sure they could teach you a lot."

"Yes, mother," Regulus obediently said.

"What was the witch's name?" Sirius demanded in a hard voice.

Walburga ignored him entirely, "I've heard that the Dark Lord is pleased with Bellatrix's results. If you want to get into the inner circle, you should ally yourself with your cousin; she can take you places."

"What. Was. The. Witch's. Name?" Sirius demanded through his teeth.

In Ursula's heart, she knew the answer but her mind refused to believe it. She sat frozen in her seat and tried to think of every muggleborn Gryffindor that lived in en entirely muggle town. When the list came up a bit short, she starting thinking of every possible explaination that would make the end result of her being alive but that list was a little too short for Ursula's liking.

Sirius kept on repeating his question until he finally exploded. He stood up so fast that his chair went flying back and he slammed his hands on the table, "WHAT WAS THE WITCH'S NAME?" He all but screamed.

A twisted smirk graced their mother's face, "Bella did she that she was close friends with you two; Ellen, Eileen, Eliza."

"Elyse," the horrified whisper escaped Ursula's lips a mere millisecond before Sirius exploded.

"YOU LYING BITCH! ELYSE IS FINE; SHE'S FINE!" He cried out.

Regulus smirked at his brother's obvious pain, "Aw, did you have feelings for the mudblood?"

With a primal shout, Sirius dove over the table and started punching Regulus. Walburga screamed at Sirius and raised her wand at him and that was when Ursula snapped out of it. She jumped up and pulled out her wand and held it at her mother's throat, "TRY ME!" Ursula screeched with tears streaming down her face. "YOU'VE TAUGHT ME THE SPELLS! I'M NOT AFRAID TO DO IT!"

Invisible ropes wrapped around her body from behind and she was yanked backwards along with Sirius. Their father levitated them to Sirius's room and slammed the door shut behind them. Their mother's hate filled shouts filled the house as the two oldest stayed on the ground.

A hysterical laugh escaped Sirius that grew into raucous laughter. He fell on his back and clutched his stomach as her laughed like a mad man escaped from Azkaban. Ursula crawled over to him and wrapped her arms around him as he continued to laugh. Tears streamed down her face completely ruining his robes. His arms tightened around her as his laughter morphed into gut wrenching sobs.

"She can't be gone," She said through her sobs as her brother cried with her.

Sirius tightened his grip around his only sister and couldn't stop the heavy tears from streaming down his face. He wanted to comfort her and try to make it better but what in Merlin's name could he say? Their friend; the girl he fancied; the girl that Ursula viewed as a sister was dead at their own cousin's hand. Nothing in the world could make it right.

"She just can't," she cried. "This is a nightmare, this can't be happening!"

As the twins grieved for their dead friend, an owl swooped through the large kitchen window and placed the letter where Sirius usually sat. Walburga grabbed the letter, recognized the right at the blood traitor Potter's and threw it in the fire and watched in burn with a sick satisfaction. Her children would get no comfort from their friends anytime soon.

Two hours later, Sirius and Ursula were lying on Sirius's bed, seeing as they were locked in. Tears would still stream down both of their faces occasionally but they had regained control again.

"When d'you think the funeral is?" Ursula asked in a raspy, tear filled voice.

Sirius shrugged and tried to block the mental image of Elyse in a coffin out of his mind, "I don't know."

"We need to get out of here." Ursula said after a moment.

Sirius didn't need to say anything to agree. He just tightly gasped her hand as she tried to hold back the tears again. The smell of green apples floated up from the kitchen and that is when Ursula lost it; Elyse always used green apple shampoo and body-wash. It was her favorite sent. Sirius pulled her closer as she began crying again.

Ursula felt something more than remorse; she felt guilty. As she was sitting her room moping about her evil family, Elyse was fighting for her entire town against Dementors and Death Eaters. Ursula should have been there to help her; friends stuck together and protected each other and Ursula failed. If she had just urged Alphard to go faster or if she had run away from home then she might have spent the day with Elyse. If she had accepted her mother's invitation to invite Bellatrix and Narcissa over for dinner then maybe Bella never would have gone to Kiltimagh to kill Elyse.

Ursula had never sent a curse Elyse's direction yet now she had her blood on her hands. She dissolved into another fit of tears as she thought about returning to Hogwarts without Elyse. It was unfathomable. But now it was reality.

It just wasn't fair.


	17. Safe

_Thank you everyone for reading this story; the amount of people reading this goes up every chapter and it keeps encouraging me to keep writing. A special thank you from the bottom of my heart to the following; StormWithinHerEyes, Arina-Peachy, Woodshrew, Laveycee, and LilaVanilla for leaving a review in the last two chapters. A special thank you to lily617. You have been reviewing this series the longest and quite honestly I look forward to hearing what you have to say after I post a new chapter for feedback. I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for being one of the best readers a writer could have._

_Now on with the story! This is a bit lighter than the last chapter but it still is dark towards the beginning. I hope you enjoy. Don't forget to review!  
_

* * *

Ursula woke up to a door being slammed. She sat straight up in bed and panicked when she saw that she was not in her room but in Sirius's. The confusion lasted only a second before felt the worst pain imaginable, worse than the cruciatus curse, settle in her chest. It felt like she couldn't breathe, like someone had placed the weight of the world in her chest.

Elyse was dead.

Everything came rushing back to her. Tears prickled her eyes and she bit back a sob, or at least, attempted to. Sirius stirred from his half of the bed and he looked at his sister crying in his bed. Confusion read clear in his eyes until his eyes dimmed to an almost black color.

"It wasn't a dream?" He asked in an anguished voice.

Ursula shook her head. The screaming downstairs was getting louder and louder with each passing moment. Ursula climbed out of bed and cupped her ear against the thick wooden door. She tried to focus on the voices to try to focus on something else besides her grief. Her mother's dulcet tones carried up the stairs and through the door as she cursed the newcomer to the lowest level of hell. The stranger's voice was definitely female and definitely familiar. The person would only respond every so often but they appeared to be in front of their mother.

The voices and loud banging of their angry feet on the archaic wood floors shook the house as they closer and closer to the twins.

"Where did you put them?" The unidentified person shouted.

"Dishonorable, mudblood loving, scum of the Earth! Leave the house of your honorable forefathers, you wench!" Walburga screeched.

The door knob started to twist and Ursula jumped back. Sirius scrambled off the bed and went to stand just in front of his sister, both of them with their wands brandished. The door knob turned at an obnoxiously slow pace and the twins held their breaths and mentally thought about which spell they would use on the intruder.

Once the door swung open, they were shocked into silence. The woman smiled at them, "Get your trunks. We're leaving." She ordered.

"Umm. What – who – when – why? Ursula stuttered out as she recognized the person as her disowned, older cousin, Andromeda Tonks.

Andy rolled her eyes and flicked her wand in the room and perfectly folded all of Sirius's junk and clothes into his trunk. "We'll go to your room next." She told Ursula. "As for your questions, I'm getting you out of here, Uncle Alphard isn't able to get through the wards, now, and we read the Prophet and there's no way in hell we're leaving you two with those two during this time."

Ursula was too shocked to respond. She just nodded and lead Andy to her room when asked to. She heard her mother screaming on the floor below them. "Wha-?"

"Shield Charm." Andy calmly explained, "Neither of your parents can get up the stairs for a couple of minutes so we need to be gone by then. Hurry," Andy said as Ursula opened her door. Andy quickly said the same spell she did in Sirius's room and all of her school stuff and clothes were packed neatly into her trunk.

With a wave of the wand, their cousin quickly banished their trunks, presumably to her house. She looked at the twins, "Ready?" She asked as she offered her arm.

Sirius immediately latched onto the offered limb but Ursula hesitated just a moment. She hurriedly went back to her room and looked at the sanctuary she had created for herself. Pictures of her friends – some with just her and Elyse – hung on the walls and there was no way in hell she was going to run any risk of her mother destroying her haven in the middle of hell.

She latched onto Andromeda's arm and was instantly yanked forward when Andy apparated. The world spun for a bit before they can to a halt in an unfamiliar living room. Ted Tonks jumped out of the plush arm chair and kissed Andromeda quickly before giving the twins a hug.

"I am sorry for your loss," He said while releasing Ursula from her hug. "We heard what happened and we just wanted to get you two safe."

She was confused a second before the grief and the guilt of forgetting multiplied in her heart. How horrible of a person was she that could she forget about her best friend dying? Ursula felt dizzy and if asked, she didn't even know which way was up at this point.

Sirius seemed to feel the same thing as he stumbled back and practically collapsed on the sofa. He leaded forward and covered his face with his hands and took a couple of deep breaths. Ursula shared his sentiment. In one day, they had gone from being mentally abused by their mother and finding out their best friend was killed by their cousin to being rescued by another cousin that had been blasted off the family tree. It felt like there was a giant wave of emotions and it was crashing down all around her.

Andromeda placed a hand on her shoulder, "Sit, I'll get you both something to eat." She nodded at her husband before she disappeared into a different part of the house. Ursula sat down next to Sirius. He reached over and tightly grabbed her hand.

Ted sat down across from them and smiled sadly at them; he could only fathom what they were going through. He didn't want to act like he was forgetting or diminishing the value of their feelings but he could actually see them become steadily more and more depressed and he didn't want to them to fall into a hole they couldn't pull themselves out of. A stoke of brilliance hit him and he abruptly stood up. "I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere." He ordered in a rush as he quickly walked down the hall and into the nursery.

A smile formed on his face when he saw his darling Dora. She was awake and was being thoroughly entertained by the mobile hanging above her bed. Every time one of the stars would pass in front of her, her hair would change to match it. Baby giggles escaped her lips as it turned. He opened the door a little bit more and it hit against the wall. Nymphadora was startled and snapped her head towards the noise. As soon as Ted got close enough, she cried out in joy, her hair turning a bright blue.

Ted gently picked her up and carried her into the living room. The twins were sitting in the same spots that Ted left them in and they both looked up when they heard the noise. Their faces instantly softened when they saw the swaddled bundle in Ted's arm.

"I thought you guys would like to meet your cousin. Sirius, Ursula, this is Nymphadora Ursula, or just Dora." He placed his daughter into Ursula's arm and watched as the teen's face filled with wonder and awe at the small child.

Dora reached for Ursula's face and changed her hair and eye color to match the Blacks'. Ursula smiled while Sirius laughed. The sensation felt weird to both of them. He reached over to see if the baby would grab onto his finger and found that she had a very tight grip.

"She's beautiful Ted," Ursula said.

Ted smiled, "Thank you. She's the only thing that keeps me going some days. It's tough; this world is darker and darker by the hour and she's just like a beacon of light."

Ursula smiled sadly down at the baby, "Yeah, she is," she said as he voice filled with tears. She hastily, but still gently, handed Nymphadora to Sirius before she stood up. "I'm going to help Andy with lunch." With that, a sniffle, and tears in her eyes, Ursula walked out of the room and left the two boys by themselves.

The rest of the day in the Tonks' household went very much the same. The twins fawned over Nymphadora, who seemed to relish the attention, as they tried to cope with the reality of losing their best friend. Since the house wasn't that large, Andromeda transfigured the two couches into beds for the twins.

Both of them that night barely slept; their thoughts haunted by Elyse. The pain gripped their heads and guilt ran rampant in their minds. It was their cousin who did the deed. They knew that the rest if their friends must have known that small fact because none of them had tried to correspond with them after the death. Their stupid family killed their friend; who would want to ever speak to them again? They surely didn't.

Through all of their self deprecating thoughts, one detail about the date never connected with them.

They didn't even realize it was Christmas Eve.

Sirius woke up Christmas morning to the sound of someone falling through the floo. "Bloody hell! Stupid rug! Who puts a fudging rug right in front of the fireplace?"

He cracked his eyes open before shutting them again. It took him a moment before he recognized the soot covered intruder to be James Potter.

"JAMES!" Sirius shouted out in shock.

James smirked, "Come on, Sirius, you know the right to scream out my name in bed is reserved for the ladies," he said with smirk as he raised his eyebrows. Sirius tried to hold it in but he couldn't help but laugh at James's comment.

"The only lady screaming your name is McGonagall when you blow something up," Ursula shot back grumpily after being rudely woken up.

"And what a sexy lady she is," James said with a confident smile.

Ursula shuddered while Sirius laughed. "I will never understand your obsession with her," Ursula said.

James dramatically draped himself across Ursula's bed, resulting in him lying across her stomach, "It's not an obsession- it's love!"

Rolling her eyes, she shoved him off her bed. He landed with loud thump on the ground before he quickly got back to his feet. A thought suddenly hit Ursula, "James, why are you here?" She questioned as he dusted himself off. Sirius leaned forward as he realized too wanted to hear the answer to the question.

Their dark haired friend looked at them with a mild amount of surprise, "When we got the letter from you when your parents kidnapped you, the rest of us were going to rescue from your house if we didn't hear from you by today but then Alphard showed up to my house earlier this morning telling my dad that your cousin got you. I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Even after what our cousin did?" Sirius asked a slight hint of worry in his voice.

James shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck, "Well, I have to admit, she did throw wrench in the plan-"

"A WRENCH IN THE PLAN!" Ursula shouted outraged as she jumped up from the bed, "YOU INSENSITIVE LITTLE BASTARD!" She screeched.

James's eyes widened and he reached up to gently push away her wand, which was aimed right at the center of his face, with one of his fingers. Ursula's glare hardened and she kept her wand pointed at her face. James chuckled, though a bit of nerves were clear in the laugh, "I would appreciate the wand out of my face."

She jabbed it a little closer to her face while Sirius, with a furious look etched on his face, snarled, "I would appreciate you respecting the dead."

"Wha?" James asked looking completely and utterly confused. "What are you talking about?"

It occurred to Ursula that they were talking about two entirely different things. "You're not talking about Elyse?"

Trepidation appeared on James's face, "No. You guys didn't get my letter?"

"What letter?" Sirius asked.

"Shit. Your parents must have taken the letter. Good thing I put the message in code, that wouldn't've been good," he muttered the last part to himself. He shook his head and then looked at Ursula, "You might want to sit down."

Ursula numbly sat down next to Sirius as millions of possibilities ran through her mind; what did James need to tell her that she needed to sit down for?

James ran his hand through his hair a few times before he started, "There's no real way to soften this. Elyse is alive. The Prophet lied."

There was a beat of silence as the twins absorbed the new information. Sirius started laughing softly to himself and buried his face in his hands as he told himself that this was all a dream and he would wake up at Hogwarts any minute. Ursula felt all of her breath leave her body. There was a strange whooshing sound in her ears and she looked up at James incredulously, "You're lying," she softly accused.

James shook his head, "I would never lie about this," he said seriously.

Ursula saw the truth in his eyes and flung herself into his arms as tears started pouring down her face. A sob escaped her and James quickly wrapped his arms around her and whispered comforting words in her ear while rubbing gentle circles on her back. She grabbed at the back of his jumper like it was her lifeline to reality. Vaguely she felt a second pair of arms wrap around her as she cried.

These weren't tears of sadness of guilt like they have been the last forty-eight hours. No, these tears were tears of pure joy. Euphoria spread throughout her veins and there was no doubt in her mind that Sirius felt the same way. Their friend wasn't dead; their cousin hadn't killed her. There were literally no words to describe how overjoyed the twins were at that moment. None. The feeling Ursula got when she won a Quidditch game had nothing on this. It felt like she was flying with pure, exhilarating happiness.

James released her and clapped Sirius on the shoulder with one hand while he wiped his eyes under his glasses with his other, "This will never be spoken of," he said with a thick voice.

"Agreed," the twins chorused with a chuckle.

"Isn't this just precious," Andromeda mocked from the doorway, her kind smile contrasting greatly with the snide tone to her voice.

Sirius just rolled his eyes, "You know, it's moments like this that make it believable you were a Slytherin."

She rolled her eyes, "Once a Slytherin, always a Slytherin. We're a rare breed." There was a mocking "HA!" from the kitchen courtesy of Ted which caused the three teens to snigger.

"I open my home to the only family that doesn't hate me and this is the respect I get!" Andy threw her hands in the air. "I give up! Your trunks are in the hallway when you want to leave; don't feel the need to apologize or thank your cousin!" With that she turned and disappeared back into the kitchen.

"She's the only cousin that doesn't want us dead," Sirius muttered under his breath. James snorted which caused Ursula to slap him on the arm.

The trio ate a light breakfast as James filled them in on Elyse's condition and whereabouts. By the end of the story he told them, they were itching to get into the fireplace to floo straight to the Potter's. James had just finished retelling them Ben's reaction to the news when they finished breakfast. The twins grabbed their trunks, said hasty goodbyes to their family (they took a little longer with Nymphadora), and ran to the fireplace, shouting, "NUMBER 18 GODRIC'S LANE!"

* * *

"_I'm going to make you beg for death," the crackling voice taunted._

_Elyse, laying on the ground, spit blood at Bellatrix's feet. "I'll neva' beg," she gasped through her pain._

"_There's no running this time, Mudblood," Bellatrix taunted. "And my little cousin gets to watch it all happen."_

_Elyse's eyes flew open and Ursula materialized in the room, looking worse for wear. "Elyse," Ursula said in a pained voice. "I'm so sorry." She cried. The Death Eaters holding her arms tightened their grip and forced her closer._

_Bellatrix walked closer and ran one of her blood red fingers down Ursula's cheek, "Your mudblood friend can't run this time. The brave little Gryffindor ran!" She crackled as she skipped back to Elyse's side. She forced Elyse to look her in the eyes. "You're going to die tonight, just like mummy and daddy. Crucio!"_

_The torture continued for five more minutes. Elyse collapsed on the ground and tried to block out Ursula's cried of protest, "Take me! I'm the blood traitor! Let her go!"_

"_Silly Sulie, there's nothing you can do. I'm going to kill your mudblood friend as long as she holds on. All Gryffindors eventually break; I wonder what her breaking point is. I'll take my time playing with her, and then it's your turn." Bellatrix leaned down and whispered in her ear, "You're not going to live through this one, filthy mudblood." She hissed before she resorted to torturing Elyse once again._

_Her skin felt like it was on fire and someone was stabbing her with a knife while suffering the worst hangover times three while being dropped in a vat of acid. Screams ripped through her throat as the pain multiplied._

"_ELYSE!" A voice screamed. "STOP IT!"_

"_ELYSE!" The voice shouted again._

_Pressure built on her chest and if felt like she was being suffocated._

"ELYSE!"

Elyse sat up, gasping and covered in sweat. After a moment of panic she remembered she was at the Potter's house and she saw safe; her family was safe. The pressure on her chest wasn't someone trying to kill her; it was Ursula who had wrapped her arms around her. She wrapped her arm around her friend and looked at the two boys standing at the edge of the bed.

"Noot 'hat I'm noot 'appy teh see yehs, woot teh heck's wit teh huggin'?" She questioned.

"They never got your letter," James explained.

Elyse tightened her grip on Ursula and looked at Sirius with apologetic eyes, "Surry fer worryin' yeh's. Dumbledore thought it'd be fer teh best."

Sirius waved it away with his trademark smile on his face, "You're alive and safe; that's all that matters. Besides, now we know what animagus you're going to be, little miss Cottontail," Sirius taunted her.

Ursula snorted as she sat up, "That's original and not obvious at all. She's lucky that she had her little rabbit's foot to save her little Irish butt."

"Lucky," James said after a moment with a thoughtful expression. "We've given Remus the nickname Moony because of his "furry little problem" so it makes sense we should get names for our animal."

"As long as I get an awesome name, I'm in," Sirius agreed while the two girls looked at each other, shrugged, turned towards James, and then nodded.

James rubbed his hands together conspiratorially, "This is going to be wicked! We can have code names for each other! We have to think of something awesome for a stag now."

"Your nickname can be Elvendork; it fits all aspects of your personality," Sirius said taking a shot a James.

The said boy seemed to actually contemplate the name, "Elvendork! Is that a boy or girl's name?" He asked for clarification.

"Either, it's your choice." Ursula explained from the bed with a snigger.

James ran through his hair, "I don't know, I don't think I have the ass to pull off that name. What do you think Sirius? Ursula? Elyse?" He spun around and pulled his shirt up and cocked his hip to the side to show off his derrière.

"I think you have an absolutely fabulous ass; it's nearly as big as your ego," Ursula shot back.

James spun around and stuck his tongue out, "At least I have an ass!" He shot back.

"So you've been looking at my ass?" Ursula asked mischievously as she stood up and walked a little closer to James.

James nodded and winked at her and gestured at her backside, "How could I not notice that beautiful, sculpted, voluptuous –"

"We get it!" Sirius shouted.

"Ass," James finished with a smirk.

Ursula smiled victoriously, "So you admit I have a better butt!"

James nodded in concession, smiling lopsidedly the entire time. Sirius elbowed James and muttered, "I can think of a certain red head that would agree with you." The former laughed and slung his arm around Sirius's shoulders, "I think so too."

Ursula had overhead Sirius but didn't hear was he said clearly and looked at him in confusion, "What?"

He waved her question away, "It's nothing, what's important is Lucky over there."

Ursula plopped back down on the bed leaned a little towards Elyse, "That's right! You need to tell me about this Patrick Finnigan!"

The two boys looked at each other in confusion, "Who's Pat Finnigan?" Sirius asked confused.

Elyse flushed a bright red and Ursula just waved off her brother and answered for Elyse, "He's a muggle from Kiltimagh and Elyse went on a few dates with him before the attack. Got a problem?" She asked when the boys looked extremely serious.

Sirius didn't say anything and just looked away from the two girls on the bed. James on the other hand had something to say, "I don't think it's a smart idea to be dating a muggle, but you can do what you want. Just remember, if he ever hurts you, Statute of Secrecy be damned, he'll wish he had never looked at you. Let's go Sirius; I can already feel the estrogen level rising."

He grabbed Sirius's shoulder and practically dragged him out of the room, his heart broken face the last thing that girls saw. Elyse looked over at Ursula, "'hat was subtle."

Ursula snorted, "It wasn't meant to be." She noticed Elyse's downtrodden face and tried to comfort her best friend, "Elyse," she began. "Sirius assumed that you would wait forever for him but he's not ready to date anyone and you are. You found a nice guy that sounds decent and you can't feel guilty for that. Sirius is a prat that you've fancied for the last three years but it might be time to let that go."

Elyse was about to respond when Mrs. Potter's voice carried up the stairs, "Children, breakfast is ready!"

There was a stampede of footsteps as James and Sirius raced each other to get the food. Sharing a look, the girls followed at a much slower pace. Already in the kitchen was the O'Brian family sitting at the table. The mothers looked up when the girls walked in.

"Let's see if the boys left you anything," Mrs. Potter said as she bustled back into the kitchen. Sirius and James didn't even slow shoving food into their mouths. It was disgusting. Mrs. O'Brian walked over to Ursula.

"Yeh must be Ursula, I don't 'hink we've properly met. I'm Colleen. Elyse's spoken aboot yeh and yeh's brother often." Mrs. O'Brian looked like an older version of her older daughter; vibrant red hair and pale green eyes with enough freckles to make her look tan. She was a bit on the short side, just a little under Elyse's height and slightly rounder.

Ursula smiled at the older woman, "It's nice to meet you, Mrs. O'Brian."

"Please, call me Colleen, Mrs. O'Brian's me mother-in-law."

"Mam!" A little boy about five called away Mrs. O'Brian as she tried to convince him to eat his cereal. Ursula went to get her food when there was a sharp tugging on her pant leg. She looked down at the bright red hair and vivid blue eyes of a little boy of maybe four.

"Are wo a witch?" He asked in an adorable childish voice.

Ursula nodded and knelt down to his level, "Yeah I am. Are you one?"

He shook his head as he clutched tightly to his sippy cup, "I'm a wiward!"

She smiled at Elyse's younger brother, "That's cool! You know, my brother is a wizard too!" She said pointing at Sirius. "He and his friend are wizards. I'm sure they can tell you all about it."

He nodded and loudly ran to the two boys. He pulled on James's pants to get his attention. After a short conversation, James pulled him up on his lap and let him hold his wand. The little boy was completely enamored by the piece of wood and for the rest of the meal, he would babble on and on about wanting his own wand and how he wanted to be in 'Gwiffinwor' like 'Wames' and 'Sirwius'. The boy, Elyse later told Ursula her that was Sean, had shown signs of magic already and he knew he was different from the other kids and that they couldn't know.

After breakfast, the families moved into the living room and opened gifts. James immediately dove under the tree while the Blacks and Elyse hung back a bit. Elyse's family was going to exchange gifts later once they all got back to their home and the Blacks were both expecting nothing. To their complete and utter surprise, James dropped two heavy packages on their laps.

"Happy Christmas, you depressing gits." He cheerfully offered them.

They looked down at the gifts in confusion. In Sirius's box, there was a box of almost everyone Zonko's product known to mankind while Ursula's held a top quality broom servicing kit. The twins looked at the Potters in surprised.

"We-we can't accept this; it's too much." Ursula said as Sirius nodded in agreement.

"Nonsense," Mrs. Potter said, "You two are as good as family. Nothing is ever too much for family."

Tears welled in Ursula's eyes as she stood up and hugged James's parents with all of her might. Sirius was right behind her to shake Mr. Potter's hand and get pulled into one of Mrs. Potter's loving embraces. Honestly, that woman gave the warmest hugs that made you feel loved beyond all reason.

"I would suggest putting your stuff in your room," Mr. Potter suggested.

"James is eyeing them." Mrs. Potter clarified.

It was true. James looked like he was contemplating how best to steal his friends' gift. The twins quickly gathered up their gifts and ran up to 'their' rooms. Ursula made sure her kit was safely in her trunk before she stood up and looked around 'her' room that was decorated in lightly glowing Christmas lights. It was odd and comforting feeling knowing that the owners of this house considered this her room. She wasn't just tolerated; she was _wanted_ here. A feeling of calm and wanting that she never felt back in Grimmauld Place washed over her. Downstairs, she could hear Mrs. Potter and Mrs. O'Brian discussing how they were going to baste the ham while Sean shrieked in delight when he opened James's hastily wrapped gift that was Ursula's extra Gryffindor scarf. There was no argument in her mind; this was the best Christmas ever.


	18. A Simple Matter of Trust

_Sorry this so long to post. I just wanted to make this chapter as perfect as I could make it. This is the beginning of the next big thing for our dear group of Marauders. I would like to delicate this chapter to Woodshrew, your review was sort of the inspiration for part of this chapter._

_Enjoy!_

* * *

The day after Christmas, the four teens in the Potter's house woke up extremely early and sluggishly walked down that stairs to get food. As they walked through the living room, they paused at the window that showed the darkness that was outside.

"We're up before the bloody sun," Sirius grumbled as he furiously rubbed his eyes.

James shoved him on the shoulder and continued on to the kitchen, "Give it up Sirius. We barely tolerate your complaining in the daytime; there's no way in hell that I want to listen to you at four o'clock in the morning."

"You know– Dumbledore?" Sirius said as he froze at the doorway to the kitchen.

Ursula snorted, "Yes, we all know Dumbledore. He's the guy with the freakishly long beard and wicked purple robes."

"Why, thank you Miss Black, I have always been partial to uniquely colored robes. Minerva thinks that I should tone down my wardrobe, but I think that it keeps things lively in the castle."

The four teens initially jumped back when they heard the unfamiliar voice in the dark kitchen but they all calmed when they realized it was just their headmaster. But that still begged the question, how did he get in there? James, ever the direct one, meandered into his kitchen and lit all the candles.

Dumbledore chuckled while the rest of the kids slowly walked into the room. "Most students do not usually perform underage magic in front of their headmaster."

James turned confidently towards Dumbledore, "We both know I'm not like most students, Professor."

Ursula rolled her eyes at James's arrogance but Dumbledore just smiled, "Indeed Mr. Potter-"

"James," he interrupted.

For a moment the kitchen was deathly silent as Elyse, Sirius, and Ursula contemplated James's mental state as he cut off the greatest wizard alive. But to their complete and utter surprise, Dumbledore just nodded once, "James it is. You do seem to have a…different way of dealing with my colleagues. But your behavior in school is not why I am here. I would actually like to speak to Miss O'Brian."

The three black haired teens turned to look at their wide eyed friend. Elyse nodded, "Woot do yeh need teh talk aboot?" She asked, wondering what on Earth the most powerful wizard in the world would have to talk to her about.

"This is a private matter about the safety of you and your family after you return to Hogwarts and they return home." Dumbledore explained as he stood up and gestured towards the back door. Elyse didn't move from her spot and she shook her head.

"Professor, woot eva' yeh have teh tell me, yeh kin tell me friends. I trust 'em wit me life 'nd me family's."

Ursula smiled at her friend and rested her hand on her shoulder and gave it a quickly squeeze. Her eyes started to tear up at her words; to know in your heart something to be true is one thing but hearing it from the person's heart is something else entirely. There had residual fears in Ursula's mind that after Elyse found out about her cousin's attempted murder; Elyse wouldn't trust either Black twin anymore but Elyse had proven that idea ridiculous.

There was something in Dumbledore's eyes as he scanned the four teens. It was something that Elyse considered a-kin to pride. "Trust like this between people so young is something rare and beautiful. I trust Miss O'Brian's judgment and if she trusts all of you, then I trust you as well. Back to the matter at hand, when the term starts up again, any help you may need will be offered to you. All of your teachers have been informed and if they suspect something is wrong, they will request that you get some help. I am not implying that you are mental unable to continue your schooling. I merely stating that you have been through a traumatic experience that none of your classmates have gone through. Sadly, I do not believe you will be that last.

"As for your family, a group of elite Aurors of sorts will protect your family inconspicuously. If the attack is determined to be completely random, they will be called off within a few weeks. But if the results of our digging prove that you were targeted, they very well may be watching your family until the Death Eaters are caught or Lord Voldemort falls from power. Until then, there are a few wizards willing to move to Kiltimagh to protect the citizens of the village and your family."

Elyse nodded numbly, trying to absorb the information, "Yeh mean me family's 'n danger because I'm a witch?"

"Nonsense," Sirius said, surprising all in the room, as he caught onto Elyse's train of thought, "You were not responsible for the attack. None of this is your fault; it's theirs." He said assertively with his eyes flashing as if he was daring Elyse to argue with him. Elyse, never one to back down from a dare, took the challenge.

"Then yeh explain teh me why me entire village was attacked! I'm teh only witch fer miles!"

"Lucky, think about it, you are the only witch for miles which is why that idea is even less likely. Death Eaters have been on a streak of attacking purely muggle towns lately. You were probably an unexpected glitch in the plan that saved lives," James countered.

"How?" Elyse asked in an almost scathing manner. Is seemed like she was dead set on believing on what she thought and no one could change her mind.

"The trace," Ursula spoke up softly. "Every single witch and wizard that is underage who lives in a muggle household is monitored. If they do any type of magic, Ministry officials are notified. That's how they knew you were under attack; your patronus saved possibly every life in Kiltimagh."

Elyse opened her mouth to argue but Sirius cut her off, "Sissy is right."

"I must agree with your friends," Dumbledore interjected with a slight grin on his face. "Dementors don't leave a magical signature when they suck the soul out of a human so if you hadn't acted in the manner you did; it is likely that the entire town would have been killed. The Death Eaters only showed up because of a leak in the Ministry. Thankfully the Aurors were right behind them."

James gave her a triumphant look, "See! Dumbledore has spoken. Now let's get some food before we starve." He moved towards the refrigerator and opened it.

Dumbledore chuckled and stood up from his seat at the table, "That is all I wished to discuss with you. Before I go, I must ask, who taught you the patronus charm? There are fully trained wizards that can't perform a full corporeal patronus and yet a fourteen year old student is able to fight a horde of Dementors with one."

Elyse froze for just a second before smirking secretively, "A Gryffindor never reveals her secret."

The headmaster seemed thoroughly entertained by his pupil, "Alas, I cannot offer a counter argument. Have a safe rest of your break. I expect to see all of you, including your three other friends, healthy at the start of the term. May I interest any of you in Liquorices Spangles before I depart?"

Sirius and Ursula shared a look, wondering not for the first time about the mental stability of their headmaster. Elyse just shook her head and politely declined. James on the other hand… to say the least it would be noted that that was the day James discovered his allergy to liquorice.

* * *

It was nearly two o'clock in the afternoon when Sirius, Ursula, James, and Elyse flooed over to Alphard Black's house. In their hands, their gift for the person they pulled out of a hat. The figured that it was easier this way; put everyone's name in a hat and whoever you pull, you have to buy their Christmas present. If you pull your own, you put it back in and pulled again but otherwise there were no re-picks.

Remus, Peter, and Ben were sitting in the living room watching a muggle television with great rapture. They didn't even notice their friends arrive. James took great offense to this and used their unawareness to his advantage. He walked up right behind Peter while Sirius did the same to Remus and Ursula to Ben. Elyse was standing towards the side with her camera ready.

'One-" James mouthed as he got ready to scare the daylights out of his friend, 'two-three'

Ursula grabbed Ben's shoulders tightly while screaming as the other boys did the same. The flash of the camera caught the unsuspecting boys' terrified faces. Peter's girlish scream echoed throughout the house while Remus's eyes bugged out his head and his mouth dropped to the floor as he jumped a foot in the air. Ben had reached up to grab the wrists of the person above him as he yelled out in shock and flipped Ursula over the couch.

She landed with an 'oomph' right onto Ben's lap. Her face was completely shocked as she looked up at her friend that had literally dragged her over the top of the couch and onto his lap. Ben, realizing it was just Ursula, slightly loosened his grip on her wrists as he smiled down at her.

"Nice of you to finally show up," he said.

Ursula rolled her eyes and tried to subtly move off of Ben's lap as a barely noticeable pink blush spread over her face. She bristled at the insinuation if was her fault they were late, "I'll have you know Benjamin that it was James's fault we were late."

Ben rolled his eyes, "Why doesn't the surprise me?" He looked down at Ursula who was still sitting on his lap. An odd expression crossed his face and he was about to say something when James loudly announced that it was time to exchange presents. Ursula moved to get up but stopped when Ben's grip on her wrists stopped her.

"Um, Ben?" She held up her wrists. His eyes widened as he let go of her wrists while muttering an apology while turning a brilliant shade of red. She said something before she quickly escaped to where she left her bags to get her present.

Ben let his head fall back against the edge of the sofa and he rubbed his face with his hands, "Stupid, you idiot," he muttered to himself, "Just make things super bloody awkward, why don't cha?" he berated himself. After a few more seconds of mentally scolding himself for messing things up with Ursula, he got up and joined the rest of them for their annual gift exchange.

Five hours later, they were sitting around an old muggle television set that Alphard set up for them to watch some of the movies that Elyse got James. There had been a note attached to them that caused their usually arrogant friend to blush but he quickly pocketed it before anyone could read it. The two girls were in the kitchen popping the popcorn while Alphard told the boys the story of how he won the telly in Greece during a game of poker. James, Sirius, and Peter were completely enamored by the story and kept on asking questions. Ben decided to listen with one ear while trying to eavesdrops on Ursula's and Elyse's conversation.

The last boy in the group was sitting silently in the arm chair as he waited for the movie to start. Remus was still a bit wound up over James's present; a shirt that had been forcibly shoved over his head that read 'My Furry Little Problem' and had a picture of a demonic looking rabbit on it. He had been scowling when he first read what was on the shirt, but Ben saw the smile playing at his lips.

"Hey, Ben," Remus called. Ben started slightly and looked at Remus and walked over towards him.

"What d'you need?" Ben asked.

Remus shook his head and just asked, "I was just wondering about the whole Elyse-patronus charm thing. I mean, who taught her that?"

Ben mentally swore and tried to keep his face neutral as he sat down on the edge seat of the two person sofa, "What do you mean, Remus?"

The other boy was not amused, "That Charm is highly advanced and it is not something that she would just come across in our school reading. I asked James about it earlier and he gave me some roundabout answer that ended with Quidditch being the best sport ever. I'm asking you as a friend; tell me the truth."

Ben was saved from answering as Alphard declared the telly set up and James and Sirius quickly claimed their seats on the large sofa and laid out comfortably on it until Peter walked over to sit with them. Elyse ran in seconds later holding a bowl of pop corn and landed right on top James, Peter, and Sirius and smirked triumphantly at Ursula as she tossed a piece of pop corn into her mouth. Ursula rolled her eyes as she followed in and looked for a seat. The only one available was right next to Ben.

Ursula took the seat and tried to hide the nervousness that was crawling into her veins. She wanted to curse herself; it was just Ben! But of course, no matter how she put it in her mind, it wasn't just Ben. The said red head uneasily shifted so that he gave Ursula a little more room on the sofa and she muttered a thanks before turning her attention to the moofie, or whatever Elyse called them.

"What are these called again?" She whispered to Ben.

Ben turned to her with a wide eyed expression that clearly told her that he had no flipping clue. Resigning to the fact that neither of them had any idea what the name of what they were watching was, Ursula snuggled into the cushions a little bit. Her leg gently bumped into Ben's leg and she froze. In her mind she had two options; keep her leg against his or movie it. She spared a glance over at Elyse who was smirking in their general direction. When she noticed Ursula looking at her, she mouthed the words, "Go for it" before turning her attention back to the movie.

Taking a deep breath, Ursula pressed left her leg against Ben's and also moved her arm a little bit so it was touching his, basically leaning against him. "Is this, um, okay?" She softly asked Ben, mentally cursing the nervous and hopeful tone in her voice.

He nodded and she smiled before focusing back on the movie. As soon as she turned her attention away from him, Ben shot a terrified look at Remus over Ursula's head. Remus didn't say anything but a slow smirk formed on his face before he turned back to the movie. It was moments like this that reminded him how Remus managed to put up with James and Sirius; he was just like them on the inside. As Ben thought about it, it was probably them that corrupted Remus. They probably should have thought that through.

The first movie was entertaining but the second one was some medieval love story that held no interest for most of the teens. Peter was the first one to sluggishly walk off to Sirius's room where his temporary bed was set up. Sirius and James were the next to go, the former carrying a sleeping Elyse in his arms. Ursula yawned loudly and subconsciously snuggled closer to Ben.

Ben stiffed for a minute before he slowly relaxed. He was just contemplating carrying Ursula to bed when she wrapped her arms around his torso in his sleep, effectively trapping him to the couch. He tried gently shaking her shoulder but the girl was out cold and appeared to not want to let him go. A piece of pop corn hit Ben right in the center of his head and he snapped towards Remus.

"I'll wake you two in the morning," Remus whispered before he too went to bed.

The house was complete silent except for Ursula's soft snores. A curl of hair feel into her face and Ben gently brushed it back. She moved a little closer to him and pushed her head against his shoulder. He winced as her glasses dug into his shoulder. Carefully, so to not wake her up, he gently removed her glasses before he wrapped his arm around her in a more comfortable position before he too nodded off to sleep.

"…no…can't be…Elyse…"

Ben woke up with a start. It took his eyes a moment to adjust to dark and another moment for him to mentally wake up. He went to sit up but weight held him down. He looked down and saw his best friend and the girl he fancied, Ursula Black, laying on top of him. That isn't what disturbed him the most, no. It was the state of the girl. There was a layer of sweat on her face, matting some of her hair to her forehead. Her chest rose and fell in sporadic, shallow breaths as she muttered words in a panic. She tightened her grip so tight that Ben almost couldn't breathe.

"Ursula, Ursula, you need to wake up," Ben said, violently shaking her shoulder.

Her eyes snapped open and she sat up with a terrified expression on her face, "Elyse, Elyse, oh my God, I need to find Elyse."

She tried to jump from the couch to run to her room but Ben grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back, "She's fine! She's sleeping right now, she's alright."

"SHE'S DEAD! DON'T LIE TO ME!" She cried as she fought against his grip. He just held onto her tighter.

"Ursula! Listen to me damnit!" he whispered harshly.

She instantly stopped struggling and looked at him with wide semi-hysterical eyes. He took that as a good sign so Ben continued, "The Prophet was lying, Elyse is fine. You've spent the last two days with her, you know she's fine. It was just a dream." He promised her. "It was just a dream."

Her eyes filled with tears and a sob escaped her lips. Ben looked terrified at the prospect of having to deal with a crying girl and he hesitantly reached out to pat her on the shoulder. He was just about to spout off something that wouldn't help when she jumped to her feet.

"Excuse me," she hastily said as she quickly escaped to the kitchen.

Ben watched as she disappeared into the kitchen. When the light turned on he fell back against the arm of the couch and ran his hands over his face. He didn't know how to act around a normal Ursula, let alone a crying Ursula. Realizing that neither of them were going to get much sleep, he stood up and lit some of the candles so that it was bright enough for them to see in the room but not bright enough to wake any of their friends sleeping in the adjacent rooms.

Ursula walked back in holding a glass of water. Her eyes were bloodshot and she looked absolutely miserable. She timidly walked into the room and hung her head slightly as she whispered, "Sorry about earlier, I'll just leave."

She went to walk past him but Ben reached out and grabbed her wrist. She flinched slightly at the touch but stopped to look down at him. "Stay," He requested.

Numbly, she nodded and sat down across from him, pulling her legs to her chest and wrapping her arms around them protectively. Ben was about to say something when Ursula surprisingly started.

"The second that Sirius and I got back to Grimmauld Place, it was complete and utter hell. Regulus would tell stories about how he hexed a little first year and my mother would fawn over him and say how proud she was. Then she would turn around and make these vague threats about everyone."

"Like what?" Ben prodded when she fell silent.

Ursula sighed, "She would say things like, 'Your friend Pettigrew's father is dead; maybe he'll be joining him soon' or 'I wonder if Durmstrang accepts transfers over the holiday' or 'What do you think Orion, fifth of sixth year of them to get the Mark?' or my personal favorite, 'You two should watch your back; Alphard won't be around much longer to save you.' It was nonstop."

"Ursula, I'm sorry," Ben said. He reached over and placed his hand on top of her intertwined ones.

She just shook her head with a small smile on her face, "Don't be. You just need to understand, that is what I had been listening to for days when Sirius and I walked downstairs and my mother was gleefully telling the death of Elyse, according to my cousin Bellatrix. It was horrible feeling, Ben. It felt like my entire soul had been ripped out; a nightmare coming true. In the back of my mind, I'm always scared that while I'm trapped at home, my insane family will try to get to us by doing something to any of you."

"Hey," Ben said comfortingly as tears started streaming down her face, "None of this is your fault and if anything, Merlin forbid, ever happens to one of us, it still isn't your fault. We'll all be fine. As Elyse proved, we can fight back."

Ursula hastily wiped away her tears, "I hate crying." She muttered as she sniffled.

Ben laughed, "Well considering what you've been through, it's acceptable. And don't worry, I won't tell the guys."

She smiled in thanks but then her face reverted to the melancholy look she had earlier. After a moment of silence, Ursula asked while looking at her knees, "You want to know what the worst part is?"

The question was innocent enough but the way she said sent warning signals off in his brain, "What?"

"When my mother said Elyse was dead, I threatened her with dark magic."

Ben could feel the temperature drop. There was more, he could tell. "And…"

She looked up at him and silver met brown and Ben felt all the air leave his body. "And I didn't even think twice about it. I was actually going to use one of the unforgivables on my mother and I didn't even think twice about it. That's what really scares me; what if I'm just like them?"

"Now you listen to me Ursula Walburga Black, you have to trust me when I say this that this is the honest to God truth. You're best friends with a muggleborn, who might I add is a seer, and you're currently in the process of breaking a major Ministry law so you can help another friend who is a werewolf. You forgave me when I acted like a prat first year and you stayed stood by Elyse when you two caught Flammel's Disease even though you two had no way to communicate with each other. If you were your family you never would have done any of that. And even with Regulus, who hangs out more with Snape than his own siblings, you've never once given up on him. You are the farthest thing from your family and that's why I-" Ben cut himself off before he finished that sentence, '_fancy you._"

A steady blush had formed on her cheeks throughout his entire speech. However, when he abruptly cut off, she looked at him with critical eyes, "What were you going to say?" She questioned.

Ben turned bright red and was about to stutter out an answer when he was saved by the bell. Really, it was just Remus but it was the same difference. Remus walked from the bedroom and looked at the two with sleep heavy eyes, "James and Sirius are going to be up soon. You might want to at least make it look like you've slept in your own beds." He said before he turned around and after stumbling into the door frame, disappeared into the boys' room.

The two teens looked at each other, embarrassed by Remus's insinuation.

"I guess I'll head back to bed," Ben said as he stood up.

Ursula nodded and lithely got up from the sofa. They stood there looking at each other and then away and then back to each other multiple times.

"Well, um, goodnight." Ben said. He raised his arms just slightly as if he was going to hung her before he decided against it and just waved. He turned around and quickly scurried towards his room. He was just about to make it past the door frame when a voice in the hallway made him turn around.

"Ben?"

"Hm?"

Ursula smiled at him and nodded her head slightly. "Thanks," was all she said before she quickly entered her room and closed the door behind her. Ben quickly pulled off his shirt and ran his hand through his hair a couple of times before he jumped into bed. He barely got any sleep because a certain black haired girl haunted his thoughts. He sighed, frustrated, as he buried his head into his pillow. That girl was going to be the death of him.


	19. Return to Normalcy

Returning to Hogwarts was like a breath of fresh air for all of the teens. After the Christmas holiday, all they wanted was a return to normalcy. Well, as much normalcy you can get in an enchanted castle where everyone can perform magic.

It actually began on the train. Sirius decided to test out the quality of the dungbombs that he got for Christmas and James decided to go along as a second opinion. Their target: the Prefect's compartment. They came back laughing and, although they now had two weeks of detention, they cheerfully assured everyone that the dungbombs were of the highest quality.

They had just walked into the Great Hall later that night when Elyse was almost tackled to the ground by Lily. She fell back onto James who helped her stay on her feet.

"Thank God you're okay! I read what happened in the Prophet but I wasn't sure if you were the witch or not!" Lily explained as she gathered Elyse in a death grip hug.

"Where's my hug, Evans?" James asked as he opened his arms all the while wearing a cocky grin on his face.

Lily pulled away from Elyse but still had one arm wrapped around her and looked at James with a disenchanted look, "In your dreams."

James wiggled his eyebrows, "You know it." He said as he winked at her.

She looked at him in utter disgust and said, "Potter, you are despicable. Come on, Elyse, Ursula, you two are sitting with us tonight." Lily grabbed Ursula's hand and dragged her towards where Alice and Marlene were sitting, leaving behind an entertained group of boys.

Alice and Marlene greeted them with smiles. "Operation A o' K or Operations S n' R?" Alice asked.

"A o' K. Though it was mostly Potter's fault we had to resort to that." Lily responded as she sat down.

Elyse and Ursula shared a look, wondering if the other had any idea what the other three girls were going on about. Ursula was the one that asked, "Operation what?"

Alice and Lily shared mischievous glances while Marlene answered with a chuckle, "We knew that we needed a plan of attack to get you away from the guys. So we can up with Operation Attack, Obliviate, Kidnap and Operation Steal and Run."

Elyse laughed while Ursula rolled her eyes and said, "You know, you could have just asked us to come with you. The boys know that the day back from Christmas is our day; they wouldn't keep us from leaving, not like they could keep us, even if they wanted to." Ursula added at the end as an afterthought.

Marlene glowered at them, "Will you just let us have our fun?"

Ursula raised her hand in defeat, "Then, why thank you for valiantly saving us from those evil males. We would have been doomed to a night of horror and stench that-omph!" She jumped when a Marlene threw her sock at Ursula. "What the hell! Where did you get this?"

Marlene smirked while the other three girls laughed at Ursula's appalled face. Then Elyse playfully smiled, "Yeh knew, Ursula wouldn't mind 'at, especially if it were a certain red head."

The three girls turned towards Ursula's thundering face with their own disbelieving faces. "Traitor!" Ursula hissed at Elyse who just leaned back and left Ursula to be feed to the sharks.

Alice was about to ask the obvious question when Dumbledore stood up and stalled Ursula's demise by welcoming all the students back and reminding them that classes started up again the next morning. With an enthusiastic "Dig in!" food appeared on all the tables and the students did just what their Headmaster suggested.

"Don't let think that you're safe from interrogation." Lily said as she pointed her fork in Ursula's direction.

Marlene nodded and leaned forward, "Something happened between you and Ben? Spill." She demanded.

Ursula tried to remain nonchalant under their prying eyes. "It wasn't anything much."

"Anythin' much!" Elyse cried out, "Yeh's were bloody cuddlin' on teh couch!"

"You what!"

"Why didn't you tell us!"

"That's so romantic!" Alice practically swooned.

Ursula jumped at their exclamations (as did a group of first years sitting near them) and shook her head, "It wasn't that big. Besides," she added with a triumphant smirk, "That's only what Elyse knows about."

Now even Elyse looked surprised. All four girls' jaw dropped at Ursula's statement. Ursula completely ignored them and continued to eat her dinner. After a full minute of silence, she looked up from her plate and pushed Lily's jaw up, "Close your mouth, darling, James'll think that you're ogling at him."

Her mouth closed with an audible snap. She glared at Ursula but a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, letting Ursula know that she was off the hook. Lily sighed, knowing the effort was lost, and instead pointed at Ursula's plate, "You need to eat up, you're far too skinny."

"Yes mum," Ursula muttered before stuffing a spoonful of mashed potatoes in her mouth.

Alice spoke up, "You do know that the second we get to our dorms, you are telling us every detail of your night cuddling with a certain male friend of yours," She said before taking a sip of pumpkin juice.

Ursula shook her head, "I never doubted that."

"Aw, look at that," Marlene cooed, "she finally gets it."

"Why don't you shut up, McKinnon?"

"Why don't you just get over it and snog him already?" Marlene challenged.

Ursula glared at Marlene, "Why don't you-"

"That's enough!" Lily said, cutting off whatever Ursula was going to say. "Marlene, the longer it takes her to eat the longer it will take to get back to the dorms to find out what happened. Ursula, we all know you want to. There's no use arguing."

Ursula groaned and let her head hit the table, "Does anyone ever listen to me?" She asked the table.

Lily nodded, "We do. We just know that you're in denial. Now sit up, Darling, your hair is in the creamed corn."

Once up in their dorm, Ursula ran to the bathroom before she was accosted by her roommates. She let the hot water run over his cold skin, soothing some of the bruises and cuts that were just starting to fade from the time she was at Grimmauld. After washing her hair three times to get rid of the food, she jumped out of the shower and quickly pulled on her bathrobe. After drying her hair and leaving it down, she walked back into her dorm.

There was no surprise when she walked in and saw the rest of them sitting down on her bed. Lily patted the empty spot next to her, "Sit." She commanded.

Feigning annoyance, Ursula walked over and sat down between Lily and Alice. Alice reached up and played with one of her curls. "Your hair is really pretty. You should wear it down more."

"We can talk more about her hair later," Lily said. "But right now, we have more pressing matters to discuss. So, Ursula, what happened between you and Ben?"

Ursula sighed and tried to think about how to start the story. "It's kind of a long story." She admitted.

Marlene waved that away, "We have all night. So get started."

"Fine." Ursula conceded. "It really started a day before Christmas Eve. To say the least, we were told that a muggleborn witch was murdered in Kiltimagh and it was someone we knew. We went the whole day under the impression that Elyse was dead. It was horrible."

"Time out, how did you know it was Elyse? The Prophet didn't say any names," Marlene questioned.

A dark look crossed Ursula's face, "My family isn't exactly like the Potters or the Whites. If you don't remember from first year, Sirius and I are the first ones in our family to be sorted into Gryffindor; everyone else had been a Slytherin, a few Ravenclaws scattered throughout and one or two Hufflepuffs that married in."

"Oh yeah, I forgot your related to Bellatrix and that lot." Alice said in an awed voice.

Marlene looked at her with wide eyes, "Damn, you're related to some crazy-ass people."

Ursula rolled her eyes, "Trust me, I know."

"Oi, let's git back to teh story," Elyse said.

Lily nodded in approval, "Elyse is right, you've stalled long enough."

"So Sirius and I heard from our mother that Bellatrix killed Elyse and let's just say there were some words said and some spells cast before Sirius and I ended up locked in his room the rest of the day. The next morning, we heard more shouting and arguing and suddenly, the door flew open and there was Andromeda, our cousin that was disowned and married a muggleborn. She grabbed us and brought us to her house. Apparently, they thought that Elyse was dead too. That day wasn't that bad since we got to spend it with our baby cousin, Nymphadora. The next morning however, James appeared and after finding out we didn't get his letter, told us that Elyse was alive."

"Wait a minute! Potter wrote to you to tell you Elyse was alive?" Lily shouted out.

Ursula nodded, "He wrote to all of us," she explained slowly, shocked by Lily's outburst. Her cheeks were red with anger and her green eyes were snapping with fury.

"That bastard! I worried for half of break wondering if Elyse was dead and that wanker knew and didn't bloody tell me!" She snapped.

"Lily, calm down. You can kill Potter later. I want to hear about Ursula and Ben." Alice shushed her.

The said girl still looked angry but nodded and focused back on Ursula.

"There isn't much left to the story," Ursula explained. "We met up at my Uncle's house the day after Christmas and we were going to watch a mavie-"

"Movie" Elyse corrected.

"Same difference. Anyway, I was the last one in the room and there were no seats except for the one next to Ben. It was on a small sofa so we kind of had to sit close to each other. At some point in the movie, I feel asleep. I started having a nightmare when I woke up suddenly, right next to Ben."

Marlene looked interested, "Were you snuggling?"

The blush on Ursula's cheek said it all. The girls all 'awwwed' at her, causing her to blush even darker and for them to laugh at her embarrassment.

She shook her head, "Enough about me," she said, not wanting to share what happened after that with the rest of the girls, "I want to hear more about Elyse's date with a certain muggle."

Elyse's eyes widened, "Yeh bitch," she breathed in shock.

Ursula just smirked in victory as all the girls turned on Elyse, "You love me."

As much as Elyse wanted to be angry at Ursula amid the questions of "You're dating a muggle?" "What's his name?" "Is it serious?", she couldn't help but accept the karma.

* * *

Classes during that week went by quickly. The teachers seemed to go easy on Elyse and her friends, giving them less homework and not yelling at them for all their shenanigans. In Transfiguration, Minnie even smiled at them. In their first Charms class, Flitwick asked Elyse to produce the patronus charm and when she did, he awarded her one hundred points. It was the jump they needed to push them ahead of the Slytherins in the House Cup.

In Potions, Slughorn seemed to suddenly realize that Elyse was one of his students. He would stop by her and Ursula's work station and have discussions about anything and everything that caught his fancy. He claimed to have mentioned her to a few of his 'esteemed alumni' and they were just as interested in her future and, if she would allow it, he would love to introduce them.

It was in Defense though, that the biggest change happened. The change wasn't caused by Elyse.

Professor Clark walked into class early on Thursday and smiled at the students all sitting in their desks. Her robes were an ice blue color and there were what looked like jewels in her hair. There was something different about her, but none of the students had any idea.

"Hello students, I hope you all had a wonderful break. Before class starts, I would like to award Gryffindor one hundred-fifty points for the heroism of one of their classmates." She winked in Elyse direction as James and Sirius pounded her on the shoulders.

"That's not fair!" A Slytherin in their year, a girl of the name of Astrid Nott, shouted. "That's favoritism!"

Clarke turned her attention towards the Slytherin, "Excuse me, Miss Nott. I was not aware that I had to get your permission to hand out points. When you save your entire village from Dementors and Death Eaters, I will award Slytherin the same amount of points. Until one of you does so, I suggest that you keep your opinions to yourself."

"Buuuurn," James hissed under his breath while Astrid sunk into her seat while glaring at the professor.

Clarke turned to address the rest of the class, "Now that that is out of the way, would everyone please put away their books and their wands. We will be having a discussion today based off of creatures you wrote about in an essay in the beginning of the year."

There was shuffling as everyone put away what was requested and Clark waited until it was silent before she began speaking again.

"I want to begin this class discussion with a somewhat personal story today. If you would please recall, I have mentioned that my sisters were attacked this last summer and my twin died in the attack. You know half the result. I never told you what happened to Luna, my younger sister. While Estrella was fighting a masked Death Eater, Luna was dueling with a man named Fenrir Greyback."

The name instantly resonated in the room. Remus's back stiffed and his eyes widened in recognition of the name. His hand gripped the edge of the table, his knuckles turning white. Ben, who knew what Greyback had done to Remus, placed his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"To those who don't know, Fenrir Greyback is a werewolf. He kidnapped my sister and kept her trapped in a shed so that he could maul her when he finally changed on the full moon. Her wand was taken away so she had no way to defend herself. She spent four days in a shed knowing that she was going to be killed by a werewolf."

Tears were glistening in her blue eyes. She hastily wiped them away. "The twist comes in here. Greyback decided that he wouldn't be the one to kill her. There was another young werewolf, a boy that actually lived down the street from us growing up, a kid that Luna used to babysit, would be the one to kill her. He didn't kill her though. He just bit her."

Alice's hand hesitantly went up, "Does that mean…?"

Clarke nodded, "My sister has been a werewolf for the eight months now. While Luna was recovering in St. Mungo's, I was approached by the Ministry. They had caught the boy that bit her. Since my other sister was dead, my parents were muggles and didn't understand what was going on, Luna was unconscious and it was unclear at that point if she would live, and my brother is an unspeakable and he was in seclusion for six months, they asked me what I wanted to see done to the werewolf.

"I was ready to say kill him, throw him in Azkaban, I didn't give a damn. But then they brought the boy out and my heart broke. Standing in front of me was a werewolf that might have killed by baby sister and even if she lived, sentenced her to a damned existence. He was just the little boy that used to bring me dandelion bouquets. So I turned to the Auror in charge and I told him that I wanted to see him put in a safe place where he would not be harmed and he would not harm anyone else on the full moon. Besides that, I didn't want to see anything happen to the boy. And I have never regretted that decision. Ever since that day, I have worked to make my sister's life better and try to change people's opinions of werewolves."

Remus's jaw had gone slack. "Excuse me professor," He spoke up shocked, "but what are you saying about werewolves? Don't people view them as monsters? He destroyed your sister's life!"

She nodded in a knowing way, "You are right Remus. People view werewolves as monsters and do not belong in society. But I have a question for you. If someone used to imperious curse on let's say Sirius and made him murder another wizard, would you view Sirius as a murderer?"

There was dead silence in the room as the students thought about that. Finally Dalton Avery spoke up, "That's completely different. Werewolves are a menace to society and should be rounded up and killed."

"Why don't you shut the hell up, Avery." Ursula spat from across the room.

"Ursula," Clarke scolded, "Calm down. And Dalton, that is an extremely brash thing to say."

Dalton didn't seem to care and neither did the other Slytherins. Snape spoke up, his drawling, greasy voice carrying over the soft muttering of the rest of the class, "You seem quick to defend werewolves, Black. It raises questions about why…do you have something to admit?" He taunted.

"Don't speak to my sister, Snivellus!" Sirius snapped.

Snape glared at him, "You don't scare me Black. The only time you have a spine is surrounded by your friends."

All of Sirius's friends stood up and brandished their wands at Snape, whose own friends stood up to defend him.

"Aw look at that, Snakes do have some sense of loyalty." Ursula hissed.

"SIT DOWN!" Clarke yelled at the entire class, the voice with an amount of anger the class had never heard from the usually cheerful professor.

While no one sat down, their arms fell to their side. Clarke waved her wand and all at once, the class was forced into their seats. She looked angrier than they had ever seen her. "I am disappointed in all of you. Yes, I understand the rivalry your houses have with each other; I was in Gryffindor! But never, ever, in all my years attending Hogwarts did we ever threaten each other or treat each other like this. This is not the time to fight each other over a pathetic rivalry! There are wizards out there that don't give a damn if you wore green or red; they'll kill you if you stand in their way. One of your classmates can tell you all about it; she was almost killed a week ago and yet here you guys are acting like a bunch of three year olds!"

The class hung their heads in shame.

Her voice was still hard as she continued, "The Sorting Hat gave you guys a warning and I think that you all need to heed that warning. Now turn to page 394 and start reading silently for the rest of class."

No one made a noise the rest of the class period.

It was past curfew when Ursula stood outside of the Defense room. She opened the door and walked down the middle aisle towards the elevated office. A dim light shone under the door as Ursula climbed up the stairs. Gently, she knocked on the door, "Professor?" she asked.

There was the sound of soft footsteps and the outline of her legs was see-able in the light escaping from the door. Professor Clarke opened the door, standing in muggle clothes.

"Ursula, what a surprise. Is there something I can do for you?" She asked.

The student nodded, "I was wondering if I could speak to you about today's class."

Clarke nodded and opened the door wider, "Please come in."

When she walked in, Ursula caught the first glimpse of her professor's personal office. There were posters of muggle rock bands and family pictures splattered all over the walls. There was a large bookshelf that held what looked like hundreds of books. The chairs were mismatched but looked right together and extremely comfortable. Throughout the entire room there were random knickknacks from what looked like different eras and countries. Ursula found the room odd but thought that it fit the professor.

"Would you like some tea?" Clarke offered as she walked over to a teapot.

Ursula nodded, "Yes please."

Clarke nodded and poured two cups of tea. She handed Ursula one before going to sit in her desk chair. Ursula sat down across from her and sipped at the tea and sighed as the warm liquid went down her throat.

"You said you wanted to speak to me about class today," Clarke prompted after a moment.

Ursula nodded, "It's not really about my behavior; I'm not apologizing for that. I wanted to ask you about the subject matter. You said that you have tried to make your sister's life better. How have you done that?" Ursula asked.

"Why would you be interested in this?" Clarke asked with a small, knowing smirk on her face.

Ursula placed her tea cup on the table and leaned forward, "Hypothetically, if your best friend was bitten as child and he views himself as a monster and you hypothetically happened to figure out what happened to your friend and you are now willing to do hypothetically anything to make the full moons easier for him, what would you hypothetically do?"

Clarke set her cup of tea down at some point in Ursula's hypothetical situation. "Hypothetically, of course?"

Ursula laughed and nodded, "Of course."

"Then I would suggest first not putting their hopes up and not being able to follow through. If you know for sure something is going to happen, feel free to tell him. But if there is a chance that it won't work, it can crush them."

Ursula nodded, seeing the logic in that, "And if the idea is highly illegal and is highly advanced magic?"

Clarke considered that for a moment, "Than as your professor I would have to report you to the Ministry. But as a family member of a werewolf and a fellow Gryffindor, I would suggest practicing what you are doing in the corridor behind the mirrors on the fourth floor. If you ever need anything, you have my word that as long as it will not cause harm to any student, I will do my best to help you. Now," Clarke said as she stood up, "it is significantly past curfew. You have classes tomorrow."

Ursula stood as well, "Thank you Professor Clarke."

"Take this, in case Filch stops you," Clarke said as she handed Ursula a slip of paper.

"Thanks," Ursula said as she turned to leave the office.

Clarke watched her disappear around the staircase and reappear in the classroom before she disappeared into corridors of Hogwarts. She shook her head with a soft smile on her face. She knew that there was a werewolf student (Dumbledore had told her after swearing her to secrecy) and she quickly was able to figure out that it was Remus Lupin. Apparently, his friends had figured it out too and hadn't run for the hills. After making a mental note to give out an absurd amount of points to the seven Gryffindors next week, Clarke blew out the candles and went to bed.

* * *

"You're doing it all wrong!" James shouted at Ursula while they were at one of their late night practice sessions to try to get the process of their animagus change started. And so far everyone except the twins was able to get their patronus. James had assured them that he had a stag; Elyse had proven hers was a rabbit over break; Ben had cast the spell successfully last week and revealed his patronus to be a lion; Peter was able to get it earlier that evening showing his patronus was a small rat. Sirius was getting half of something that had padded feet and claws but Ursula was still just getting wisps of smoke.

"Shut up Potter! I'm bloody trying!" She shouted back, her frustration building. It was now close to three in the morning and they had been at this for close to four hours. She had followed Clarke's advice from a few weeks ago and found the corridor that was large enough for them to practice without drawing attention to themselves.

"Try harder! You're not trying hard enough!" James shouted back.

Ursula ran her hand through her hair and looked at James with a slightly deranged look in her eyes, "I'm doing the best I bloody can! I'm good at Defense and Transfiguration; not Charms! So pull your wand out of your ass and leave me alone!"

"I'll leave you alone when you get your Patronus!" James stubbornly said.

"This is exactly why Lily hates you! You're a bloody prat!" She screeched at him.

James was just gearing up to take another shot at Ursula when Sirius and Ben stepped between them. Sirius pulled James back, "Come on mate, you need to leave her alone. This requires happiness and she isn't going to get it while you yell at her."

"I'll work a little more with Ursula. The rest of you can leave," Ben said.

They all nodded and started to file out. Peter hesitated at the door, "Could I stay?" He asked nervously. "I think I only got it on luck last time and I –" Elyse hand reached back through the door and grabbed his shirt before yanking him out of the hidden corridor.

Ursula ran her hand through her hair a couple times, making her look too much like her cousin Bellatrix for her liking. "I can't get it. I just can't." She muttered in frustration.

Ben shook his head, "You can. You're one of the best witches that I know." He complimented her.

"Peter! Peter got it before me! He's barely passing school and yet he manages to get this before I can!" She shouted. She kicked one of the chairs in the room and started pacing back and forth all the while muttering to herself. Ben just sat down in one of the window ledges and let her rant out all of her anger. Once she was done, she leaned against the wall opposite of him, defeated.

"I don't know why I can't do this, Ben." She said defeated.

Ben shook his head resolutely and stood up and grabbed her shoulders, "Listen to me! You can do this! You are one of the best witches of our year. James was being a prat earlier, he just doesn't get that some things are harder for some people rather than others. Trust me, one day the 'Great James Potter' is going to run into something he doesn't get on the first try and it will knock his ego down a couple of notches, not that Lily hasn't been doing a good job already."

Ursula chuckled and wiped the tears from her face, "You mean that?"

He nodded. "Ursula, I don't know if you know this but you're actually beating James in Transfiguration right now. You're brilliant at Defense and you aren't that bad at Potions. Charms just happens to be your weakest subject but even then, none of us are the best at Charms, except Peter who for some reason is really stepping up in that class this year."

Ursula took a deep breath and when she noticed how close Ben was, she cleared her throat awkwardly and a bright red blush spread across his neck and ears when he realized it too. He took a step back and rubbed the back of his neck.

"So, um, want to give it another shot?" He asked her.

She nodded, "Walk me through it."

He grabbed her hand and led her to the middle of the corridor and almost immediately let her go. He stepped back and before she could ask what he was doing, he moved behind her and covered her eyes with his hand.

"Think of your happiest memory and let it consume you." He gently ordered.

Ursula ignored the shiver that went down her spine when she felt his breath on the back of her neck. She thought about all the happy moments that were untainted by her family. Getting sorted into Gryffindor, pulling brilliant pranks on the Slytherins, the girl's nights that she had the beginning of each second term, finding out Elyse was alive, that night when she woke up cuddling with Ben…

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" She shouted.

She felt a surge of magic rush through her and she heard Ben's awed intake of breath. His hands fell from her eyes and she caught a glimpse of a canine before it disappeared.

"I did it," she said in shock.

"You did it!" Ben said excitedly.

She spun around and looked up at him with her silver eyes sparkling vibrantly. "I DID IT!" She shouted as she practically jumped into Ben's arms. He wrapped his arms around her and picked her off the ground and spun her around, their joyous laughs echoing off the stone walls. He set her down and was about to say something but Ursula, euphoria running through her veins, stood up on her tiptoes and kissed Ben on the cheek.

That was when she seemed to realize what she did and she looked away bashfully. Ben was frozen in shock foe just a moment before he smiled happily. Ursula tried to back out his embrace but he just pulled her tighter to him. He moved one hand to her cheek forcing her to look at him.

The only thing he saw was her slightly parted lips and he subconsciously started moving his head closer to her. Ursula could feel her heart pounding against her chest and she was sure that Ben could probably hear it. He ducked his head and both of their eyes fluttered closed. The hand on her check lowered so that it was resting on her waist and her hands found themselves around his shoulders. She tilted her head back and pushed herself up on her feet so she could meet him halfway. Anticipation was practically tangible in the air and the room suddenly felt ten degrees warmer. Their lips were just centimeters away when a meow from the doorway caused them to look towards the noise, though they were still wrapped in the others embrace.

They spun around to look at the creature that had destroyed the moment. Their eyes widened in shock when they recognized the animal.

"Is that Mrs. Norris?" Ursula asked softly.

Her questioned was answered when Argus Filch's voice echoed down the hall, "Where are they my sweet?"

They looked at each other panicked, detangled themselves, and at the same instant decided to make a break for it. Sprinting down the hallway towards Gryffindor Tower Ursula made a mental note to thank Jacob for making them run so many laps at practice. She had just gone around a corner and saw Peeves floating in the middle of the hallway, putting portraits upside down. Momentum almost made her fall forwards but an invisible hand reached out and pulled her back.

Stifling a scream, she spun around and looked straight into James Potter's hazel eyes. Behind him was Ben who was crouching down so the cloak could cover their feet. None of them moved until Peeves zoomed away and Filch ran past them after the pesky poltergeist.

Once they were in the clear, James pulled the cloak off of them and the trio started their trek to Gryffindor Tower.

"You're lucky that Sirius reminded me that you two might need some help getting back to the Tower. Sirius and Elyse almost got caught by Filch when we were on our way back so I decided to see what was taking you two so long. Lucky I found you when I did."

Ursula nodded, thankful that the darkness was hiding her blush as she imagined James showing up a little earlier in the hidden corridor, "Yeah it was real lucky you showed up when you did." She admitted, sharing a knowing glance with Ben.

While she was getting ready for bed, she thought about what had happened that night. Yes, she finally produced a patronus (some sort of canine) but more importantly, she almost kissed Ben. It seemed like he wanted to kiss her just as much and they probably would have if it hadn't been for that stupid cat. What would happen if something had happened? Would they still be able to hang around each other without being awkward, or at least, more awkward than they already were at times? Would they start dating? How would the rest of the gang react if something came of the two?

When Ursula climbed into bed, finally at four thirty in the morning, she decided that she was never going to get answers to those questions at this time (Maybe the morning would bring her answers?) and promptly feel asleep when her head hit the pillow.

* * *

**_Hey guys I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I know nothing really big happened (except the almost kiss at the end) but I still like this chapter. Hey, it's almost six thousand words! I think that's a personal record for me._**

**_There are just a few housekeeping things that I would like to address._**

**_1. Since Third Year is coming to a rapid end (maybe two or three more chapters) I would like to ask everyone that hasn't voted in the poll on Ben's Quidditch position to vote. That's going to close soon so if you want to have your opinion heard, go vote._**

**_2. Since this book is much longer than I thought it would be at this point, I am just going to make this Third Year and Fourth Year will have its own book so be on a look out for that. I'll let you know when I post the new story since I might include the summer in this one or I might start out the next book with summer break. _**

**_3. DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! I love hearing back from you guys and it usually brings a stupid smile to my face and it inspires me to write more and better. It would mean a lot to hear from more of you guys. Please?_**


	20. Friendly Support

It was a cool morning in late March. A gentle breeze swept through the castle causing most students to cast aside their robes and wander around in warm jumpers that weekend. The only reason Peter was not out enjoying the first spring like day of the year was because of a certain…addition to his body. To become animagus, they had to master nonverbal human transfiguration. Since they were nowhere near close to that, they would meet twice a week in the fourth floor corridor to practice verbal transfigurations on each other. It was easier now since everyone knew their animal; James – stag, Peter – rat, Ben – lion, Elyse – hare, Ursula – a wolfish looking dog, Sirius – a mangy looking bearish dog.

They had paired up and started working on transfiguring your partner. Peter had to work with Sirius yesterday and he was still sporting a giant rat's tail. James and Ursula, the two best at Transfiguration, had tried everything they could think of to get rid of it. Nothing worked. While Sirius was practically doubled over in laughter and while Peter freaked out about his tail, Ursula transfigured his hands to look like giant dog paws.

To keep Remus from suspecting anything amiss with them, the girls and Ben had taken him around the castle to work on the Map (they were now on the third floor) while James and Sirius were stuck in that night in detention for hexing a fourth year Ravenclaw so that his feet grew so long they were as long as he was tall. Flitwick had not been pleased and had sentenced the boys to three weekends of detention.

That left Peter all alone in his room, trying to make sense of the DADA homework but it was just Greek to him. He just grabbed his book out of his bag when the door slammed open. In shock, he yelped and threw the book so high it hit the ceiling and then fell straight back down and hit him on the head.

"Ow!"

Ursula laughed as she walked farther into the boy's room, "Hey Wormtail."

He looked at her oddly and blushed, "Wormtail?"

She rolled her eyes, "Turn around Pete— you have a bloody tail. We need code names to fit our animagus forms. Sirius still hasn't figured out how to change his hands back so James is calling him Padfoot. You're still stuck with a tail so you're now Wormtail."

Peter whined as he picked up his book, "That's not a cool nickname!"

Ursula cuffed him on the head, "Suck it up Wormtail. You should be happy you didn't get stuck with Cheese Boy or something. Now I came in here to ask you if you wanted to go down to the kitchens with me to get James's birthday cake for tonight."

Peter shook his head, "I thought his birthday was last Wednesday?"

She nodded impatiently, "It was but we can't celebrate a birthday in the middle of the week now can we? Come on, once we get the cake I have to help you guys wrap the gifts."

"But my tail…" He protested.

With a wave of her wand, his tail disappeared. He looked at her in shock, "What-why didn't you- but-"

Ursula rolled her eyes and grabbed the sleeve of his shirt and dragged him out of the room. "I stopped by the library earlier this morning to find a spell to fix it. I didn't know if it would work but it obviously does."

"What type of cake are we getting James?" Peter asked as Ursula tickled the pear. She turned and said, "We'll see. James and Ben picked out a cake last week for the house elves to make. I don't even know what type it is."

The second they walked in the kitchens, they were swarmed by multiple house elves. In the two years since they had discovered the kitchens, they made themselves regular guests. The house elves particularly loved it when they showed up and they rarely had to ask what they wanted anymore. "The usual" was usually enough for them.

"Mitzi, do you have the cake for James's birthday?"

The house elf nodded enthusiastically, "Mitzi has Master James's cake, yes she does! Made it all herself Mitzi did!"

A minute later, Mitzi came running back with cake. She handed it to Ursula the cake. "Does Mistress Ursula like it?"

The cake looked like life size red Quaffle. In gold writing, it read _Happy 14__th__ Birthday James_ on the top. Ursula laughed and nodded her head at Mitzi, "It's perfect. Thank you Mitzi."

Mitzi seemed to swell with pride as tears of happiness filled her eyes. "Mistress Ursula is too kind. Mitzi liked baking the cake because Mitzi loves baking."

"Have you made anything else recently?" Ursula asked as she handed off the cake to Peter, who had just stood in the back.

The house elf nodded, "Does Mistress Ursula want to see?"

Ursula nodded and then turned towards Peter, "Take that back to your room and put it in Ben's trunk. He cleaned it out to put the food in there. I'll be up in a minute."

Peter nodded and left the room. Walking down the hallway with no other students, no teachers, and no friends scared Peter. His hands shook as he carried the cake as he walked back towards the Common Room. He kept looking behind him, waiting for Ursula to show up. He would occasionally stumble be he made sure that he didn't trip; he couldn't drop the cake – it was for James.

"Look what we have here," Snape sneered.

Peter jumped a foot in the air and almost threw the cake into the air. He squeaked loudly causing the group of Slytherins that had gathered around Snape to laugh uproariously at the Gryffindor. He blushed bright red and started stuttering.

"L-l-leave me a-a-a-al-alone."

Snape laughed cruelly at the scared little boy, "You think that I'll listen to you? You're weak and pathetic without your friends; you're nothing without them. Just a puny, useless waste of space," Snape hissed at Peter.

He had backed Peter against the wall, leaving just enough space so he didn't get frosting on his robes. "What is this?" Snape asked, looking down at the cake. The second he saw that it was for James, his lips twisted into disgusted grimace.

"What is it, Severus?" Regulus asked from behind them.

"It's a cake for the mudblood loving Potter." Snape hit the plate and sent the cake flying right up into Peter's face. It hit with a splat and covered Peter with vanilla cake and strawberry frosting. The icing stung Peter's eyes and he brought his hands up with a cry as he crumbled lower to the ground. Every single laugh of the Slytherins was like metaphorical stab to his confidence. He _was_ weak, we was nothing.

"Let's remind mudblood lover him of his place. Diff-"

"EXPELLIARMUS!" A familiar female voice shouted from down the hallway.

The wands of Snape, Regulus, and two other Slytherins went flying in the air. Ursula deftly caught all of them as she stalked towards the group of boys. She stood in front of Snape and pointed her wand at his neck, her eyes dangerously flashing.

"How dare you attack Peter! You claim none of us have courage unless surrounded by friends yet you start a fight four on one you pathetic, want-a-be Death Eater. You disgust me. Now listen to me, I swear that if I ever find out that you hurt someone I care about again, I will make you regret the day you were born."

"You don't scare me, Black," Snape hissed.

She stepped forward and soft, threatening voice said, "You seem to forget Snivellus, Lily is one of my closest friends. You better be thankful that I care about Lily more than you apparently do because I know it would destroy her if she happened to hear what you said."

"Are you threatening me?" He demanded.

"Yes I am. Now get your greasy nose out of my face." She threw their wands at them and watched them retrieve them. Her eyes lingered on Regulus who regarded her with sad eyes for a moment before he followed his cronies down the hallway. Once they disappeared around the corner, Ursula got out of her defensive stance and knelt down next to the quivering Peter.

"Did they hurt you?" She asked in a motherly voice.

He shook his head, unable to speak. His eyes were burning and he felt like his heart was beating so fast it was about to fly out of his chest. Her heard Ursula mutter, "Evanesco," and he felt all the cake icing disappear. Her opened his eyes and looked up and Ursula's concerned face. The feeling of unworthiness multiplied in his chest.

"I'm a failure," he mumbled.

Ursula shook her head and tightly gripped his shoulders, "Listen here, Peter. You are worth ten of Snape. Sure, Snape could probably best you a duel and he's probably he's a bit smarter overall. But you have something that Snape doesn't have a never will; a good heart. That makes all the different in the world."

"Do you really think that?" Peter asked, hope filling his voice. His heart warmed from her praise but it was almost too good to be true.

She shoved his shoulder gently in a friendly way and laughed, "Of course I do Wormtail. I wouldn't say it otherwise. I'm sorry that I wasn't there sooner so I could have hexed Snape when I had the chance. Come on; let's go get James a new cake. We can't have an upset birthday boy, can we?"

Ursula offered him his hand and helped pull him from the ground. Together they walked back to the kitchens to get a new cake. A feeling of protection washed over Peter as he walked just behind Ursula. A feeling of power emancipated from him; his friends would fight for him and protect him. No one could ever mess with him as long as they were around. They were stronger than all his enemies. They would protect him.

* * *

Elyse was sitting on her bed, her gift for James (albums of popular muggle music) and a letter she received over a month ago on Valentine's Day. She had not been expecting to see the school owl return drop a letter written in unfamiliar handwriting that morning. Thankfully James was trying to get Lily to go on a date to Hogsmeade with him (she set his hair on fire) so none of the others noticed the letter.

The letter had been read many times since Valentine's Day and it showed. The paper was crinkled and there was a small tear in the middle crease. There was also a smudge of jam from when Sirius tried to steal it from her one day at breakfast.

_Dear Elyse,_

_I will admit that that I have been thinking about writing this letter ever since I saw you over the holiday but I could never find the words. There has just been so much going on and I really haven't been in the mood for writing anyone lately. If there is one thing that I am grateful for is that your school starts when it does. I'm sure you heard about the train falling off the line and going straight through town the day after you left. A lot of people died. I don't know if you remember Seamus O'Hara but he is…was my best friend and he and I were in town together that day. I broke both my legs and got a concussion but Seamus was killed. His mom tells me that the doctors told her that his injuries would have killed him on impact, but that doesn't lessen the blow._

_There was about two weeks were I didn't do anything. I sat in my room and cried. About a week after that, I went to speak to Father O'Malley (his adopted son Timothy was also killed) and he has been helping me through this. He suggested that I try to return to my normal routine little by little because me shutting down isn't what Seamus would have wanted. There was a conversation that he and I had before…well before the accident where I told him about our dates (I hope that is okay) and he said that he was really happy for me and he thought we would be good together. That was the last time I spoke to him._

_I happened to see your mother in the market about a month after the accident and I asked her if I could have your mailing address so I could write to you. She said that the school only accepted letters from parents but she would sneak the letter in along with hers. It has taken me this long to sit down and write this letter to you. For that I am sorry, I probably look like the world's biggest prat, asking you on a date and then not speaking to you for almost two whole months. I am sorry._

_With everything going on and you being in a different country, I know it would be stupid to assume that we can be just like we were when you were home. But I would still like to write you because if time we spent together proves anything it is that we get along very well, even if we can't be in the relationship I want us to have. Since you are so far away and it is hard to exchange letters, I understand if you wouldn't want to write me but I really like you and I would like to get to re-know you. While you aren't the same ten year old girl in class I fancied, my feelings haven't changed and being perfectly honest, they are probably stronger now._

_I don't expect an answer right away. Actually, I wouldn't be surprise that if you never speak to me again after I just threw all of that at you. But I just needed to let you know how I feel. _

_Just think about it._

_Yours Truly,_

_Pat_

Elyse had still not written back to him. She had tried to avoid thinking of the day that she almost lost her life. Her dreams were still haunted by the images of the dead littering the street. Sometimes, the dream she had at the Potter's repeated itself and usually those nights ended up with her running to Ursula's bed to wake her up. Elyse would feel guilty but just as often as her nightmares were; Ursula's were twice as bad. Ursula would see Elyse's dead body, bloody on the ground, her ghost blaming Ursula for her death. A few times, Ursula had dreamt Elyse's funeral and it would cause her to wake up in tears.

None of the boys knew of those nights. Being two girls in a group of pranksters, they tried to keep their 'girliness' that Sirius would sometimes complain about at bay. Their dorm room was their sanctuary and what happened there stayed there; it was an unspoken agreement between the girls. Ursula had told Elyse that she confided in Ben, and the red head was fine with that. Ursula had so much more baggage that she needed someone to be strong her for, no matter how often she claimed she was strong enough; Elyse knew the truth.

But that didn't alleviate Elyse's guilt when she found out that Seamus O'Hara was killed in the attack. Seamus and Patty had been best friends since they were in diapers. They were neighbors and closer than brothers. They were muggle version of James and Sirius in Elyse's eyes. It felt like Seamus's blood was on her hands…

"Oh, hello Elyse," Lily said as she walked into the dorm room. She set her stuff down next to her bed and picked up her History of Magic book, ready to start the essay that had been assigned to them that weekend. But the second she saw Elyse's face, her books lay forgotten as she sat down on the edge of Elyse's bed. "Elyse, what's wrong? Has something happened to your family?" She asked when she was the letter.

Elyse shook her head and folded the letter up again, "Nah, just me muggle friend. He wrote teh me and told meh o'some news."

Lily smiled slyly, "Does thing 'muggle friend' happen to be a certain Patrick Finnigan?"

"Yeah," Elyse said softly, "He just wanted teh talk teh me. His um, 'is best mate died in teh attack over teh 'oliday."

Lily gasped and brought her hand up to cover her mouth while her wide green eyes widened as large as saucers, "Oh my God." She breathed out in shock. "Elyse, you must have known him I'm – I'm so sorry."

Elyse shook her head, "I didn't know 'im 'at well. But Patty an' Seamus were really close, like brotha's. I just can't—"

She was cut off by loud yelling from the Common Room.

"BEN, WE NEED THE PRESENTS FOR JAMES UP HERE NOW! URSULA'S WRAPPING!" Sirius screamed from the boy's dorm down to the Common Room where Ben was currently trying to organize all the food they had for James's birthday party.

"WHY DON'T YOU GET THEM? I'M BUSY!" Ben shouted back up.

"I DON'T WANT TO!"

"TOO BAD!"

Elyse didn't hear the rest of argument between her two friends. This vision was different than others. Instead of going straight to a vision where she could see something, all she saw was what looked like grey smoke and voices, two familiar voices that were currently yelling at each other.

"_Listen, mate, I know how you feel right now but you can't-"_

"_YOU KNOW HOW I FEEL?!" _

"_I have a sister too-"_

"_AND SHE'S STILL BLOODY ALIVE! MY SISTER'S DEAD! GET IT THROUGH YOUR THICK SKULL!"_

Elyse was thrust back to reality and felt her heart in her throat. She had to warn someone, a teacher, the brother. She couldn't let this happen, she had to save her no matter what the law said. It was Lily speaking again that snapped her out of her panic.

"Bad vision, huh?"

Elyse nodded, "Yea, I've got teh tell Dumbledore aboot teh—" Elyse trailed off when her admittance caught up with her. "Woot I meant was," she began trying to think of a legitimate excuse.

But Lily just held up her hand stopping any lie that was about the sputter out of Elyse's lips, "Don't insult my intelligence. I know you're a seer."

"How de yeh know?" Elyse asked, wondering what gave her away.

Lily shrugged, "It was a combination of things, I suppose. I zoned out looks you get sometimes in the middle of class. How your friends always seem to come up with different excuses for it each time. Then when Potter asked me out the first time, you just stood there and almost got severely hurt. Also, you somehow always seemed to know when Professor Slughorn was giving a surprise quiz," Lily said with a joking smile.

Elyse smiled shakily panic still coursing through her veins. Lily, sweet innocent Lily, now knew information that Death Eaters would love to know. The simple fact that she knew put her in danger and that terrified Elyse. Lily mistook the look on her face and moved a little closer to Elyse, "Elyse, I promise that I won't tell anyone about this. This is your secret to tell; I swear." She solemnly said. "If you want, I'll let you oblivate my memory of this if you feel so uncomfortable about me knowing."

"NO!" Elyse said shaking her head vehemently, "No, I don't mind 'at yeh know, I was actually goin teh tell yeh one o'these days. But it's dangerous fer people teh know aboot me gift. Especially afta' woot 'appened over Christmas."

"Dangerous? I hate to break it to your noble, little Gryffindor mind, but I think just the same as you. How anyone would figure out I know this is beyond me but if it meant keeping you safe, then whatever happens to me would be worth it."

Elyse shook her head, "I can't ask 'at o'yeh! I don't want more people hurt because o'me!"

Lily looked at her, gob smacked, "Now you listen here Elyse O'Brian," She said forcefully. "Don't you dare blame yourself for what those Death Eaters did to your home town! What they did is despicable and pure evil; what you did was brave and honorable! Seamus's death is in no way your fault. The same goes for the other deaths! You are one of the kindest people I know and I am honored to say you are my friend. And even with your visions, your secret is safe with me no matter what. I promise you. Ignoring the fact we are both Gryffindors, we muggleborns have to stick together, don't we?"

Elyse looked into Lily's truthful green eyes and a sense of calm washed over her. She nodded and Lily smiled and pulled her into a hug. Just then the door opened and it sounded like all three girls were back in the room.

"Aww, look at this; the set is hugging," Ursula teased.

The two broke apart and looked at Ursula as if she had lost it. "The set?" Lily questioned.

Ursula smirked in a contrastingly light hearted way, "Yup. If something happens to one of you, we have another to replace her."

"Ursula!" Lily scolded, "That's horrible!"

The raven haired girl just smirked and shrugged, "What're you going to do about it?"

"Titillando!"

Ursula fell to the ground, laughing hysterically and begging for mercy. With her friends distracted, Elyse quickly slipped a note on the top of James's present before going back to cheer on Lily.

* * *

Later that night, the boys and the two girls were sitting in front of the boys' bed. Their stomachs had just been filled with vanilla cake and strawberry frosting and now James was practically bouncing with excitement to get his presents. Peter watched as James opened up Elyse's present, once again blushing at a note she had included, before questioning her on what the records were and how they worked.

But Peter was not interested in that. He was interested in the girl sitting next to him, the girl that had protected him from the Slytherins earlier that day. Peter had been sandwiched between the Black twins and both were having a conversation with someone that was not him; Sirius was talking to Remus and Ursula and Ben were speaking about something else. Peter just sat there, his eyes nervously looking up at James who listened intently to everything Elyse was saying to Ursula's knee that was just barely touching him. Her pale leg contrasted greatly with the black of his pants and he wished that she would move a little bit closer to him.

Her words from earlier still played over and over again in his head.

..._if I ever find out that you hurt someone I care about again_…

She cared about him. She had sheltered him from the Snape and she threatened the Slytherin for him. Peter, simple Peter, had a girl that cared a lot about him and his safety.

_You are worth ten of Snape._

Ursula saw the value in him that no one else did. The teachers all thought he was stupid. His other friends mocked him all the time for his stuttering, especially Sirius. He couldn't stand up to anyone yet Ursula still thought he had a heart of gold

"Hey, Wormtail, could you hand me that envelope?" Ursula asked, her beautifully soft and enchanting voice shocking him out of his thoughts.

He blushed red while nodding. He reached back and grabbed the simple white envelope and handed it to Ursula. Vaguely, he heard Remus whisper to himself, "Wormtail?" but they all ignored it. She leaned across the circle and handed it to James.

"It's a present from both of us actually—Ben and I." Ursula explained as James opened it.

Sirius's head fell back as he let out his unique, bark like laugh that he only shared with his twin. A mad voice in Peter's head thought that Ursula's laugh was much nicer. Sirius elbowed him in the shoulder and leaned forward conspiratorially, "Isn't that precious, Wormy? They're already giving presents together; they grow up so fast!" He fake sobbed as he threw his arm around Peter.

Red tinted Peter's vision as he watched Ben put his arm around Ursula's waist. To his utter despair, Ursula didn't seem to mind. As a matter of fact, as James loudly announced they got him box seats to the next national league game, Ursula leaned back a little, farther into Ben's embrace.

Realizing that Sirius wanted an answer, Peter snapped out of his anger and nodded jerkily, "Yeah, yeah."

As Sirius continued to act melodramatic, Ursula rolled her eyes. Hope sprung in Peter's chest that she would chastise her brother and tell him that he was wrong. But to his horror, she seemed happy with the idea. She reached across Peter to smack Sirius's shoulder while telling him to stop acting like a melodramatic little girl, the scent of vanilla wafted up to his nose. He breathed in her scent deeply, knowing that he never smelled anything so sweet. Her hand accidently grazed Peter's thigh as she leaned back into Ben's embrace. Peter tried to hide the shiver that went down his back at her touch.

But then Peter saw it. Ben's arm was still wrapped around her waist; he was holding her back from him. A hideous green monster erupted in Peter's chest as he watched the two laugh as some joke James had made. There were many words that could describe the situation they were in but _precious_ wasn't one that Peter would use.

* * *

_Hey guys I hope that you liked this chapter! Nothing major really happened but I needed to establish some of the relationships before we move onto the next year. I know I made Peter a little creepy in this chapter, but that kind of who he is. I will say that this does have an effect later in the story, just hang tight. I promise, soon all these chapters were it seems like nothing happened will be very important._

_The next update might take a while because I have a lot of summer homework to finish before school starts in two weeks and I have close to eight hour band camps starting next Tuesday. Plus, these last few chapters I want perfect so I am going to take my time with them.  
_

_I hope that you all have a wonderful week and don't forget to review! I appreciate everyone that has reviewed so far and I would love to hear from some new people!  
_


	21. The Quidditch Cup

"Oh my God." Clara said in shock. Ursula stood behind her, her jaw grazing the ground looking at their trashed locker room. Their gear was destroyed, the lockers smashed in, and graffiti decorated the walls. Today was the game for the Quidditch Cup, Ravenclaw versus Gryffindor, and it appeared that someone didn't want the Gryffindors to win.

Clara turned around and brushed past Ursula. "I'm going to get McGonagall."

That left Ursula to stare the ruined remains of her and Clara's locker room. The words written in blue paint made her want to hex the first Ravenclaw she saw. Mudblood was splattered over Clara's half of the room while Blood Traitor was painted over her half. Ursula walked forward and let her fingers trace over the word that haunted her. It was actually paint; something that surprised Ursula. The roughness was

"What the—"

The male voice caused Ursula to jump. Standing in the doorway were the guys on the team. James stepped into the normally forbidden room. He looked around and whistled, "Godric, I thought girls were supposed to be the clean ones."

"Not everyone is as organized as you," Ursula said sarcastically as she started shifting through the debris to look for the gear she left in her locker. Thankfully, Clara and she took their brooms up to the rooms last night.

James was about to respond but Jacob's angry voice silenced him, "Shut up you two! This isn't some comedy show; OUR LOCKER ROOM WAS VANDALIZED!"

"Merlin, Jake, there isn't much we can do now; it happened," James said.

Jacob sighed and furiously rubbed his face. After a moment of regaining his composure he froze and he looked at Ursula with terrified eyes. "Please tell me your brooms weren't in here," he begged.

Ursula shook her head, "Clara and I brought them to our dorms after last practice. They're fine."

The Captain practically sagged with relief. "So there's some hope…"

"What has happened here?!" McGonagall exclaimed when she saw the state of her house's girls' locker room. Her eyes widened behind her glasses when she read the words on the walls and saw the broken benches and the mess of metal lockers that were thrown to the floor.

"I think it kind of speaks for itself, Minnie," James said.

She gave him a stern look but didn't comment on his cheek. She instead turned her attention to the two girls. "Is there anything that is destroyed?"

Clara shook her head for her stuff but Ursula nodded. She pointed to a pile of melted black metal. "Those are my arm guards."

McGonagall shook her head, "I cannot permit you to play without the proper equipment. Since this is such an obvious case of vandalism, I will speak to Professor Flitwick to reschedule the game after the proper punishments are doled out."

She turned on her heals and was about to leave the dejected team behind when James's face suddenly lit, an expression Ursula was quite familiar with. Excited, he ran his hand through his hair, "Stop! I have an idea."

McGonagall paused and turned to look at the Transfiguration prodigy. "What is your idea, Mr. Potter?"

James's smile spread across the face, the right side of his lips pulling up a little farther. Instantly, Ursula started to feel adrenaline running through her veins as a similar smile formed on her face. They shared a conspiratorial look with each other before turning to their Head of House at the same time.

In the stands of the Quidditch Pitch above them, their friends had no idea the problems that plagued their housemates.

"So where are we sitting?" Peter asked, huffing slightly after climbing all the stairs.

Ben scanned the Gryffindor stands and tried to see where there were enough seats to fit their large group. Just then, Alice jumped up on her seat and started waving her arms at them and pointing to five empty seats in front of her, Lily, and Marlene. Chuckling to himself at her enthusiasm, Ben pointed towards the girl, "That's where."

With some degree of difficulty, they carried the large sign supporting Ursula and James. Marlene pulled Elyse up a row, leaving the four boys directly in front of them. Just as they took their seats, the teams were announced and they flew around the pitch once as a warm up. All the Gryffindors jumped to their feet and cheered as their team flew by. James blew a kiss at Lily as he flew by, much to the displeasure of the red head.

As the teams landed on the ground to start the game, Sirius turned around with a smirk. "Hey Evans, here to give James a victory kiss?"

Lily glared at Sirius, "No, Black. I'm here for Ursula. I could care less about Potter."

"James'll be crushed."

"How unfortunate." From the tone in her voice, it was clear Lily found that anything but unfortunate.

A shrill whistle broke their attention. Jacob shook hands with the Ravenclaw captain, some bloke named Chang, their grip tense. Remus found that odd, "Guys, aren't they friends? Why do they look like they want to kill each other?"

His statement wasn't false. If looks could kill, Jacob would be on his way to Azkaban at this point. Chang looked furious at something and kept on sending dirty looks at the other two chasers, both of who were just amicably smiling back.

"That's because the Claws sabotaged your team," the familiar female voice made all eight Gryffindors jump. Standing behind them and partially in the aisle was Annabelle, the Prewitt twins, Frank Longbottom, and Benjy Fenwick.

Ben jumped up with a smile and hugged his sister. "What are you doing here?" He questioned her incredulously.

She just smiled secretively, "I heard that Gryffindor made it to the finals again this year and I wanted to see my house win the Cup since that lug over there lost it last year," Annabelle said, pointing at Frank, who was settling himself in the chair next to Alice. At this point, Alice was a brilliant red and she was slouching in her seat. Frank either didn't notice or decided to ignore her embarrassment as he shrugged and flung his arms around the backs of the chairs on each side of him.

"If I would have had one more year to build the team I would have the Cup already in my hand."

Annabelle rolled her eyes as she sat down next to Ben, the other three boys following their friends' example and sitting around them. There wasn't much more of an opportunity to talk as Hooch blew the whistle and tossed the Quaffle into the air and released the snitches and set the bludgers free. The entire team soared into the air, Ursula grabbing hold of the Quaffle and soaring towards the Ravenclaw hoops.

She ducked a bludger and tossed the ball to James, who swerved around one of the opposing beaters before throwing it behind his head and dropping several feet in height. Jacob came out of nowhere and grabbed the ball and threw the ball into the left hoop; the keeper never had a chance. The Gryffindor and Hufflepuff stands shouted victoriously as Gryffindor got the first ten points of the game.

Ursula and James high fived each other quickly before they soared towards the Ravenclaw with the Quaffle. Something caught Sirius's eye, well more accurately, something didn't.

"Where's Sissy's other arm guard?" He asked out loud, wondering if he was just missing it in the sunlight.

Annabelle nodded, "That is what Minerva was telling me about. Some Ravenclaws broke into the girls' locker rooms and destroyed the place. Both of Black's guards were destroyed."

"So how does she have one?" Ben asked.

She smirked, "Potter gave her one of his. Minerva threw a fit and wanted to reschedule the game after the culprits were caught but Ursula refused, saying something about that would be letting them win. So James offered her one of his."

Looking closely, they saw James's unprotected left arm as he speed past them with the Quaffle tucked under the other arm.

"He's risking his safety for her?" Lily asked shocked, awe coloring her words.

Frank nodded, speaking with his mouth full of some muggle treat he smuggled in. "It was his idea." He added.

Lily looked surprised, like someone had told her the Earth was square. She fell back against the seat, trying to figure out why James had done that. She had never known James to do something that would put himself in danger for someone else. He was just a bully. A big, rude, obnoxious, toe-rag, of a bully. But bullies didn't look out for other people…

An elbow to the ribs made Ben jump a little. Annabelle ducked her head low and whispered, "You might have some competition for your girlfriend, Benny-Boy."

Ben's ears turned bright red, "She's not my girlfriend." He grumbled; his heart thudding painfully as he wished that it _was_ true.

"WHOOOO! GO SISSY!" Sirius screamed as she took off towards the goal. The Quaffle flew perfectly into the goal. They all jumped to their feet and cheered at her goal. As she flew past them, she winked and saluted before zooming off, laughter left behind in the wind.

The game was going phenomenally with Gryffindor in the lead. Then the absolute worst thing that could happen happened.

A bludger that had gone unattended ascended upward, unnoticed by Liam and Cormac until it was too late. Clara, who was searching over her left shoulder for the snitch didn't move her head in time when she heard the warning yell and the crack of it hitting her skull resonated throughout the entire stadium. She slumped forward on her broom, blood pouring down the side of her head. She leaned one way and then she was tumbling through the air. Terrified gasps and screams echoed through the entire stadium. Luckily, Liam was there and he caught her before she fell too far.

At that moment, the other bludger flew perfectly straight through the air and just skimmed the side of Ursula's head. There would be a nasty bruise and a small cut but that wasn't the worst thing; the bludger destroyed her glasses. She swayed on her broom and almost fell off if it hadn't been for James rushing to her and steadying her.

"Ursula! Are you okay?" He shouted over the noise of the stadium.

She shook her head, "I can't see!"

In the blurry face she could see, she saw his eyes widen in horror. The pressure on her shoulder increased, "Jake called a time out. I'll help you."

Together, they lowered their broom and James guided her towards the congregation of the team. Ursula could only see a vague red blob that was huddling around each other.

"Is Clara okay?" Were the first words out of her mouth.

Though she couldn't see any distinctive features, she knew Jacob's voice after hearing him scream drills at her for months, "No. She's out cold. They took her up to the hospital wing, Pomfrey said it looked like they cracked her skull open."

"So we're down a seeker," James said deadpanned.

Jacob started pacing back and forth, "And we might as well count the keeper since Sean is worrying about Clara."

"And a chaser." Ursula said.

The figure that was moving froze and he turned to look at her, "What do you mean?"

She sighed, "When Clara got hit with that Bludger, I got hit by another and it destroyed my glasses; I can't even see your face right now and you're what? Five feet away from me?"

"DAMN IT! THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE OURS!" Jacob shouted at no one in particular. He kicked the ground, wondering how today could get any worse. He grabbed Ursula by the shoulders, "Is there any way we can fix your glasses. We need to keep our lead before their seeker catches the snitch."

She was about the respond when Hooch called an end to the time out and all the team members quickly got onto their brooms and flew up in the air. The stadium noticed Clara's disappearance and boos and jeers directed at the Ravenclaws deafened the stadium.

"Oh me God," Elyse said in shock when she caught a good look at Ursula.

"What is it?" Peter asked her.

She pointed at Ursula who was flying not much slower than she had been earlier, "She doesn't have her glasses."

All of the third years' eyes widened when they realized the implications of that. The older graduates look at them oddly.

"What's so bad about the glasses? I don't remember her having glasses," Fabian commented.

Benjy was the one that surprisingly answered, "She had the Thestral eyes at the end of last year, right?"

When Sirius nodded solemnly, the adults swore. Annabelle shook her head slowly in shock, "She can't see a bloody thing, can she?"

Ben shook his head, "Probably not." He commented as the Quaffle flew right past her face and she didn't grab it, allowing a Ravenclaw to catch it. The game continued in that fashion. Ursula was basically out of the game and Sean was letting in more goals than he had in the last five years combined. But James and Jacob weren't going down without a fight.

"Your friend's a phenomenal chaser," Gideon commented over the roar of the crowd as James scored again.

Peter nodded enthusiastically, "He's the best!"

Sirius chuckled and patted Peter on the shoulder, "We know he is Wormtail."

"You know," Remus said, "None of you have yet to explain those _ridiculous_ names."

They were saved from answering once again when it was announced that the Ravenclaw seeker saw the snitch. James, who had the Quaffle under his arm at that point and saw that they were 140 points ahead of Ravenclaw. His eyes widened as he zoomed at an unsafe speed towards the goals to try to get the last goal before the seeker caught the snitch so they could at least tie. Adrenaline coursed through his veins and the wind whipped his face painfully. He was getting closer, just a little bit farther…

A sudden blow to his right side sent him tumbling into the Hufflepuff Tower. Shock was the first thing that registered with him. Distantly he heard the roar of the wrong half of the crowd, letting him know that he failed. It was barely a second before he felt the pain in his left shoulder. He slowly lowered himself to the ground on his broom, his right arm guiding the broom. The second his feet hit the ground, he tumbled down and quickly reached up with his right hand to assess the damage on his shoulder

A jolt of staggering pain shot down his arm. He grunted in pain and hit his head against the wall of the pitch. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to block out the pain.

"James!" He opened his eyes and looked at the group of Gryffindors running towards him. Peter stopped a few paces away and looked like he was about to throw up right in the middle of the pitch. Remus's color faded and he looked squeamish but came forward until he was close to James. Sirius got to him first and knelt down next to his best friend. His grey eyes were full of worry. "Are you alright?" His eyes frantically looked between James's face and the injured shoulder with

James shrugged, wincing painfully as it pulled at his shoulder. "Do I look okay Padfoot?"

"Take a look yourself!" Sirius said gesturing towards his shoulder. Ignoring the pain that was spreading up his neck, he turned carefully and froze for a millisecond. His shoulder was a bloody mess, wood splinters sticking out of the rest of his arm, and there was a bit of white peeping out. Somewhere in the back of his mind he realized that it was one of his bones but it didn't seem real.

"Why would you look at that," James said in astonishment. He reached up with his right hand to touch it but Remus's hand shot out to hold his hand back.

"How do you feel?" Remus asked worriedly, searching for any signs of a mortal wound on James's body.

James smirked lazily, the blood loss making him a little dizzy, "Skinny."

His two friends (Peter was still too scared to come closer) shared a panicked look. "What? Did you hit your head?" Remus asked, starting to think that James might have hit his head and now had a concussion.

"I'm all skin and bones; skinny. Get it?"

Sirius rolled his eyes at the pathetic attempt at humor but appreciated it none the less. "Of all the bone related humor you go for skinny? He just smirked good naturedly, relief evident on his face. He held his hand down for James to grab, "Better than you usually do."

James ignored the jab at his sense of humor, "Where's Ursula?" James asked as Sirius carefully pulled him up.

"Ben went with her to get the remains of her glasses." Remus explained.

He nodded and winced when the neck muscle pulled at the injury. Sirius pulled him along towards the exit doors, "Come on, Skinny. Time to get some good ol' Skello-grow."

* * *

It was just outside the pitch where Lily and the rest of her roommates were heading back to the castle. Their heads hung low and they looked thoroughly defeated after their house, who were expected to easily win, lost.

"Lily!" A voice carried over the crowd.

All three girls stopped and turned to look for the voice. A tall, greasy black haired boy was pushing his way through the crowd to get to them. The look on Lily's face brightened a little while her friends' soured. The looks on their faces were of clear disgust and annoyance; they didn't like Severus Snape in the very least. Yet he was one of their closest friend's friend so they tolerated him. But after that defeat and the fact he was obviously supporting Ravenclaw, neither Alice nor Marlene wanted to deal with the boy.

"Sev!" Lily greeted the boy with a hug when he got to them.

He smiled at her, "What did you think of the game? Brilliant, wasn't it?"

"Brilliant isn't the word I would use," Marlene said while glaring at Snape.

Snape's smile faded and he sneered at her, "I wasn't asking you, McKinnon."

Marlene dug into her pocket for her wand, ready to hex the Slytherin, but Alice grabbed her arm. Lily put a hand on Severus's chest and pushed him back a foot, "Sev, it's alright."

"Yeah, _Sev_, it's alright. Go play with your Dark Arts and leave us the hell alone," Marlene snapped before she spun on her heels and stormed back up to the castle, Alice right behind her.

Lily looked at the retreating backs of her friends before she turned back to Snape. "Do you want to go sit by the lake?"

He nodded and slowly the sneer slipped off of his face and he followed Lily towards the Black Lake. Lily went straight to the edge and after taking off her shoes and socks, she let her feet dangle off the edge and into the water. Severus sat next to her but kept his feet out of the water. Lily leaned back and looked up at the clouds.

"This reminds me of home," Lily said softly, breaking the silence that had befallen the two friends.

Snape nodded, "That it does." He said with sadness marring his words.

Lily propped herself up with her left elbow, "You know, if you ever want to leave, I'm sure that once we explain the situation to my mother and father, they would be more than happy to let you stay with us."

"No," he said assertively. "I don't want charity."

She shook her head, "This isn't charity! I offered the same thing to Ursula, and by extension, her brother."

Snape looked at her as if she had committed the ultimate betrayal. "Black! You offered your home to those bloody twins!?"

Lily sat up and looked at him crossly, "Yes I did. Ursula is my friend and her family isn't a bunch of roses."

"And Petunia is?" Snape spat back before he really thought it through. He wanted to smack himself the second the words slipped through his lips.

Lily gasped and looked at him affronted, "How dare you!" She pulled her feet out of the water and quickly put on her socks and shoes. "You know, I've defended you when Potter and the rest of his friends are mean to you and talk behind your back. Even my roommates don't like our friendship because you're a Slytherin but I always tell them that you're different from them but you're just as bad as they are!"

She was about to stand up but Snape gently grabbed her wrist, "Please don't go," he begged. She looked conflicted as he looked into her eyes. Finally, to his great relief, she settled back down on the ground next to him.

"I'm sorry," he apologized.

Lily nodded slowly and looked down at the hand that was still wrapped around his wrist. "You've changed, Sev. Ever since you started hanging around with Macnair and Mulciber, you've become someone I don't recognize anymore. I mean, Ursula and Elyse told me about what you did to James in the hallway—"

"Potter is a prat that needs to learn his place," Snape snapped.

Lily shook her head and put her hand on his shoulder, "No matter how much of a prick Potter is, you could have killed him. And being honest, after his performance today some of his ego is deserved, at least, where Quidditch is concerned."

Severus looked horrified at his childhood friend. "Don't tell me you like Potter now."

"Pfst, I still think Potter is a stupid, egotistical, prat but he doesn't deserve to _die_, Sev."

Snape nodded absent mindedly, not hearing anything she said after she said that she didn't like Potter. He smiled at her and the two continued to sit next to the lake, watching the sun set over the lake.

* * *

Later that night, the Gryffindor Common room was somber. The only noise came from a pair of seventh years playing a game of wizard's chess and the fire crackling. A group of oddly silent teenagers sat by the fire, all of them lost in their own thoughts. The picture was not complete, however. Four members of their group had still not returned from the pitch after close to four hours.

Remus was absent mindedly doodling on a piece of parchment as he thought about the full moon approaching in only a few days. He was already feeling the side effects of the curse he didn't ask for.

Peter would go from nervously picking his nails to checking the portrait door. His mind would jump from Ursula to his mother, then combining those people as he fantasized about introducing Ursula to his mother as his girlfriend. Oh, his mother would adore her; he just knew it. But the treacherous part of his mind taunted him, '_Why on Earth would that angel of a girl, want a __stupid__ boy like you?_'

All Elyse could think about was the visions that haunted her sleep. Ever since the voice-vision of the sister's death, vivid deaths haunted her sleep. Every night she would wake up, screaming because of the visions. Her grades were suffering and she swore she saw a sympathetic and understanding look in McGonagall's eyes. She needed to get help- her brain couldn't handle the knowledge and she couldn't function on only a few hours of sleep.

Yawning loudly, she stood up and said, "I'm exhausted. I'm heading to bed." She nodded to the boys and disappeared up the girls' stairs.

Standing up, Remus and Peter followed Elyse's example and turned in early for bed. It was just twenty minutes later when James and Sirius walked through the portrait hole. Sirius was smiling manically and James looked quite pleased with himself. Though his arm was in a sling, threw himself into his favorite arm chair and curled up next to the fire.

"Pranking does the heart good, doesn't it Padfoot?" James asked.

Sirius laughed as he sat down on the couch, "I don't think that Parker's going to deflate for days!"

"All in a day's work," James said, satisfied. The smile faltered on his face for a moment as he accidentally pulled on his bad shoulder. Sirius didn't notice as he looked around the Common Room.

"Merlin, where's everyone?"

James shrugged, "Probably in bed.

The other boy nodded in approval. "I am beat. Want to head up to the dorm?"

James shook his head, "Nah, I think I'll just stay down here for a bit. Clear my head."

Sirius stood and nodded. As he passed by James he put his hand on good shoulder, "No one blames you for the loss. And don't worry; those Claws won't know what hit 'em when we find out who sabotaged the team."

"Yeah, yeah," James said as Sirius turned and walked up the dorm stairs.

The Common Room was completely silent except for the soft cracking of the fire. James couldn't help but think that the room should have been filled with all of his housemates with the Quidditch Cup proudly displayed on the mantel place. They had been so close to winning. Ten points. They lost by ten points, points that James had almost scored but had failed…

"I heard about your shoulder. How do you feel?"

James jumped and looked away from the fire to see Ursula standing in the sitting area. She moved to sit down on the sofa while he answered. "Disappointed."

Ursula simply nodded, sharing his sentiment exactly. The pair sat in silence for about five minutes, lost in their own thoughts. Then Ursula broke the silence, "I am sorry."

"For what?" James asked as he pushed his glasses farther up on his nose. He was the one that didn't make the last goal- what was she sorry for?

She just shrugged nonchalantly, "If I had had my glasses then I could have helped win the game but I was just a distraction."

James was silent a moment before he started laughing softly. Eventually he was all out laughing, ignoring the pain in his shoulder. Ursula looked at him like he had lost his mind, "What's wrong with you, Potter?"

He reached under his glasses and wiped the tears from his eyes, "I was just thinking about when you ran in to that chaser; human bludger you were!"

Ursula remembered that moment and she couldn't help but smile at the memory, "You know how we always tease Hector that his hair looks like mustard? Well, he smells like it too. Not the most pleasant thing to fly into."

"I don't know how you could have missed his hair! It's so bloody ugly," James joked.

She shook her head solemnly, "I don't know."

At that moment, a cool breeze came through the open window, causing her to shiver. James's brow furrowed, "Cold?" He asked her. She nodded but just waved it off. He shook his head and scooted over on the oversized, plush chair. "Come over here." He ordered.

Craving warmth, Ursula got up and joined James. He wrapped his right arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to him to share more body heat with her. She pulled her feet under her and leaned her head against James's good shoulder.

"You know, we need to start working on that potion for the animagus transformations. We basically have the verbal transfiguration down on each other, though Pete could use some more help, but if we want to get this in about a year, we need to start brewing the first potion to take over the summer." Ursula pointed out after a moment of silence.

She couldn't see, but she could feel James nod his head, "Ben said that we just need to wait for one more ingredient and then we can start. Speaking of him, where is that red headed pain?"

"He is spending some time with his sister before she has to leave. They haven't seen each other since Christmas."

"That's nice," James said while yawning.

Ursula didn't have the energy to keep talking so she just nodded. Her eyelids felt like they had heavy weights on them and after multiple failed attempts to keep them open, she succumbed to sleep. James, unable to move her because of his arm and because the chair was so comfortable, decided that the chair was an acceptable place to sleep. He took off his glasses and gently took off Ursula's and placed both sets on the corner table before he wrapped his arm a little tighter around Ursula. His eyelids began drooping and soon, he found himself joining Ursula in the land of dreams.

About twenty minutes later, Ben walked through the portrait hole. He was exhausted but happy after just seeing his sister for the first time in months. He never realized how much he missed her during the school year. In the dying light of the fire, he navigated his way through the Common Room and was about to go up to the dorm when a soft snore caught his attention.

In the dim light, he could see the shadow of a pair cuddling on one of the arm chairs. Smirking at the blackmail he was sure to get, he tiptoed over but froze when he saw his best friend snuggled up closely with the girl he fancied. The smirk slipped off his face a look of betrayal spread over his face. Ursula's nose twitched and she muttered something. James grumbled and pushed away from her slightly but her arms wrapped around him tightened. She mumbled something again and this time, Ben could kind of understand she was actually saying something.

Curiosity getting the best of him, he leaned closer and waited for Ursula to sleep talk again. He didn't have to wait long. She moved again in her sleep and clearly mumbled, "Ben." Ursula snuggled closer to James.

Ben couldn't help but smirk, she was dreaming about him.

Take that James.

* * *

_I'm back! I hope that you like the little bit of Snape and Lily I threw in there. It's kind of foreboding, in a sense. I feel like I'm writing the beginning of the end. And I know some of you are probably thinking that the scene with James at Ursula at the end is a bit romantic, but I'm looking at it as more of an affectionate brother/best friend type of thing. Don't worry all those James/Lily and Ben/Ursula supporters out there; it will happen...just not now. Patience! As I promised from the very beginning, a lot of things are going to be making a lot of sense and there are going to be a lot of connections that can be made. Just a little bit longer and it will all make sense._

_This chapter took a while to finish, I know, but I have been really busy with six hour band rehearsals, trying to finish summer homework, and getting ready to go back to school. Excuses, I know, but I have to say the feedback that I've gotten back, not just for this chapter but the story in general, has astounded me! It boosted up my confidence quite a bit and some of them made me blush a little (it isn't just the sun burn- yay band camp!) and if I didn't pm you back with a thank you for some reason; THANK YOU! YOU ARE MARVELOUS!_

_With that, I will leave you with just a few last minute thing. The poll will be closing later today so this is your absolute last chance. _

_This story is almost done; one more chapter the way I'm looking at it. That chapter should be up in soon, the latest being next Wednesday. Then the next year will be it's own book because this year alone is going to be close to 80,000 words and fourth year is going to be much longer and in depth than this so I don't want to overwhelm people with the length of the story. Um, I think that is everything I have to say except REVIEW!_


	22. The Future is Young

It was a gorgeous day outside. The sun was shining and there was a cool breeze coming off the lake. It was the last weekend before finals and at the current moment, the third year Gryffindors were all giving each other dirty looks. They were sitting in the boys' dorm and they were split into sides.

"Come on! You can study some other time!" Sirius argued vehemently.

Remus shook his head, "You need to think this logically through; we have exams starting Wednesday."

"Exactly," Ursula piped up. "_Wednesday_," she stressed.

Peter shook his head frantically, "But I don't know anything we're going to be tested on! I'm going to fail!" He cried.

Sirius snorted, "And whose fault is that, Wormtail? We walk you through every single bloody assignment; it's astounding that you haven't failed out yet."

The poor boy turned a brilliant red and started stuttering an answer, completely embarrassed. Ursula gave her brother a look, "Ease up, Sirius. No need to be a jerk to him just because he has some trouble in school."

James rolled his eyes, "Honestly, most of us were born with these things called brains. I for one know that I have a highly intelligent mind and I don't need to study for these jokes of exams."

"But sometimes you have to learn past what the teachers explained in class," Remus said tersely. "Just because you get what McGonagall says in class, doesn't make you a master at…animagus transformations or something."

"I'm close enough," James muttered under his breath.

Remus's head snapped up from the book he was reading. "What was that?"

James realized his mistake and swore, "Damn werewolf hearing."

Ben quickly jumped in and brought everyone back to the issue at hand, effectively distracting Remus, "I think that we should go outside. If we don't know it already, cramming the weekend before isn't going to teach us anything."

Remus sighed in defeat, looking extremely tired, "Fine. Fine."

"Hey, are you feeling alright?" Ursula asked. His eyes were slightly bloodshot and he looked pale and sickly.

He just shrugged, "It's nothing."

After a quick look at the calendar hanging near the door, Elyse winced when she saw what caused Remus's 'illness', "Teh full moon's Monday."

They all winced and looked at their friend with sadness in their eyes. Remus squirmed under their gaze and tried to explain he was fine, "Honestly, it's not that bad. It'll be over in a few days so there really isn't anything to worry about because I'm not _truly_ sick."

"We just wish we could 'elp yeh," Elyse said as she placed her hand on his shoulder.

James suddenly jumped from his bed, "Enough of this moping around! Let's go do something."

Ben rolled his eyes, "And what do you suggest doing, oh fearless leader?"

James just smirked, "You tell me. You're the King of the Jungle around here."

The red head smiled appreciatively at the joke and he chuckled, "That's a good one, Prong head." He shot back. James had finally shown them his patronus a few weeks ago and they were all shocked at the defining feature of his future animagus form. The antlers his stag had were just as messy as his hair; out of control and everywhere. Ursula bet that if one of the boys laid on the horns, it would be able to comfortably fit Remus, the tallest of the group.

"Prongs," James tried out. He nodded his head, an approving smile on his face. "I like it, King."

Ben leaned back on his pillows, "King. I could get used to that." He said smugly.

Remus tapped Ursula on the shoulder, "Am I missing something?" He whispered. He looked at her with a heartbreakingly confused face. Ursula chuckled and just shook her head, avoiding the question. "No, what is going on? I've been left out of these weird nicknames for last six months. I want an explanation." He demanded.

Shaking her head, Ursula said, "You wouldn't believe me even if you gave me Veritaserum."

A look of hurt and betrayal flashed on Remus's face before he mutely nodded and turned away from her. It killed Ursula to lie to Remus but she knew that if he knew of their plans, he would stop them in a heartbeat. They were going to tell him over the summer, after they had taken the first potion; it was impossible to turn back after that point. If they stopped, their body would be forcefully put through the transformation and it was possible that they would end up half animal or even dead.

There was no doubt in any of their minds that while it was a great risk for them, seeing Remus after the full moon was worse than any punishment they could receive. He was their friend and while he would be furious that they hid this from him, they hoped that he could see that they did for him because they cared for him. But Remus was nothing if not a cautious person. He was terrified of his condition hurting one of them already and Ursula knew that he would blow a caldron when they revealed their plan to him.

"I've got it!" Sirius exclaimed, shocking Ursula out of her train of thought. "Kettleburn showed us those Hippogriffs as a treat for our last class yesterday. Let's go pay them a second visit."

His devious smirk was matched on James's face, "That's brilliant Padfoot!"

Peter was extremely apprehensive, "I don't know, James. Those things are really dangerous and Professor Kettleburn said not to go near them if he wasn't there."

Ursula shook his shoulder, "Come on, Wormtail? Where's your sense of adventure?"

"Right next to your self-preservation," Remus said dryly.

She turned to stare at Remus in shock while her brother and friends nearly fell off their beds laughing. He had a small, satisfied smirk on his face and he folded his arm across his chest and raised an eyebrow in a challenge. It was moments like this that she remembered how Remus got along with them; he was just as bad as they were. She mocked his movements and said, "Scared Moony? I guess the question isn't _who's_ afraid of the big, bad wolf but _what_ scares the big, bad wolf," she shot back.

Remus smiled in earnest this time, "Touché. I'll do it."

"So are we goin ta do 'is?" Elyse asked excitedly. She had fallen in love with the creatures they saw from the other side of the padlock and she couldn't wait to see them up close.

"Yes we are!" James exclaimed as he quickly pulled on his trainers.

The group of seven made their way down the stairs and into the hallway. James, Sirius, and Ursula hung back a little bit while Elyse urged the group ahead, her excitement being barely contained.

"Is the potion going good?" Ursula asked James under her breath.

He subtly nodded back, "I had to sneak into the restricted section a few nights ago to get some information about the last few steps. Someone pulled them out of the books in the regular potions book."

"Probably a teacher so kids couldn't do what we are doing," Sirius pointed out.

Ursula looked forward and noticed how Remus's shoulders were slightly slumped forward and how his feet dragged a little bit. A pang of sadness hit her heart as she looked at the boy that had one of the kindest hearts she knew. He was the last person in the world that deserved this curse and yet he had to suffer each month because of a cruel and sadistic man.

"We need to finish the transformation soon. I can't bear to look at him suffering so much," Ursula said sadly.

Sirius wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "I know, Sissy. I know."

Just then, Elyse and Ursula's roommates were coming in the opposite direction. James immediately perked up when he saw Lily. He ran his hand through his hair before fixing his glasses.

"Why, fancy meeting you here Evans," he said in what he obviously thought was a charming voice.

Lily did not look amused, "It's a castle we have to stay on the grounds of. Where do expect to see me?"

"In the Three Broomsticks with me in Hogsmeade." He said while smirking.

She glared at him in response, "The last Hogsmeade weekend already happened, Potter. Are you that thick?"

Ursula wanted to smack her forehead, "Don't try to reason with him, Lils," she muttered. Sirius was just sniggering as she watched his friend get rejected.

"It doesn't have to be a Hogsmeade weekend for me to get you there. Just name the time and place and I'll make it happen."

Lily looked at him warily and with a hint of annoyance. Actually, there was more than a hint. She cocked her hip to the side and looked at him, completely and utterly unamused, "Honestly, you are so bloody annoying! Maybe if you stopped – _maraudering_ around! – all the time, then you might gain a grain of intelligence and realize that I don't like you; never have, never will!"

"You never said you didn't want to." James pointed out confidently as he ran his hand through his hair.

Lily shrieked in annoyance and after setting James's robes on fire, she stormed off with Alice and Marlene on her heels after saying goodbye to the others besides Sirius. Quickly, they extinguished the flames while James had a goofy grin on his face. "My little Fire-girl. My love for her burns like my robes," he said loftily.

"Leaving you smelling like burnt chicken?" Ben asked in mock seriousness.

Ursula laughed while James rolled his eyes and cuffed his friend over the head softly, "Shut it, King. Let's go find some hippogriffs."

"You heard your Lily Flower, Prongsie," Sirius lectured in a teasing tone, "You need to stop maraudering around!"

"But that's why she loves me!" James asserted before he quickened his steps towards the magical creatures that were just within their sights. They were only a few yards away from the gate when a booming voice scared them all half to death.

"OI! Who're yehs? What're yeh doin near those creatures!? Git away from there!" A giant man said as he lumbered towards them. He was familiar to the group. He was the Keeper of Keys who lead them across the Black Lake their first night at Hogwarts on their way to the sorting.

"'ello, Hagrid, I'm James Potter, that's Ursula Black, her brother Sirius, Benjamin White, Elyse O'Brian, Peter Pettigrew, and Remus Lupin," James greeted amiably as if he wasn't being yelled at by an imposing man as he introduces each of his friends. "We just wanted to get a closer look at the Hippogriffs we saw in class yesterday."

Hagrid shook his head, "Oh, no yeh don't. I don't care what yer teacher taught yeh's, yeh can't get any closer."

"Please, Mr. Hagrid, Sir?" Elyse begged. "I just want teh pet one." She said in her most innocent and child like voice.

The seven teens could see Hagrid's resolve cracking. He kept on looking between the teens and the still hidden padlock cage they were held in just the other day for class. He seemed to weigh his options but with the puppy dog eyes all of them were giving him, he sighed and whistled shrilly. "Yeh's better quickly explain how teh approach a hippogriff 'n two seconds 'o I swear…"

"You don't get too close," Peter began.

"And you bow lowly to them first," Ben continued.

"You never break eye contact." Remus mentioned.

"And you wait for it to bow back." This comment was supplied by James

"If it doesn't…" Ursula trailed off.

"Run like hell," Sirius finished.

Hagrid chuckled at their explanation. "Good enough! I recognize yer's names. Professor McGonagall's mentioned yeh's before. From what I understand, yeh's a good lot of kids, maybe wit a bit of a prankin streak, but good. I've teh caution yeh's though, hippogriffs cin git mean if they're provoked. Make sure yeh don't say nothing teh anger them."

Just then, four hippogriffs descended from the sky and landed near Hagrid. The seven teens looked at the beautiful creatures with wide eyes. James was the first one to step forward. He looked straight at the most powerful looking one and bowed to it. The creature assessed him for a moment, staring him straight in the eyes. The stare down continued for about thirty seconds. James never even blinked.

After what felt like a millennia to his friends, the hippogriff finally bowed back. James smiled crookedly and slowly approached the animal. He held out his hand while the other quickly followed his example. Soon, they were all gathered around the proud animals that seemed to relish in the attention that the teens offered them. Elyse was petting one with a pinkish sheen while cooing how cute it was at it. Sirius was rolling his eyes but he was standing right next to her petting the same creature. Ursula and Ben were off together petting a grey one that preened at their attention while James explained the basic concept of Quidditch theory to the hippogriff he chose. Remus was cautiously petting a blue colored one that didn't seem to like or hate the attention.

Peter was still trying to get his hippogriff to bow back.

Hagrid was absolutely delighted at the sight in front of him. The teens seemed to take to the Hippogriffs as much as the animals did to them. He had never seen them act so docile with anyone besides himself. A thought hit him and he walked a little closer to the teens. "Oi, you lot. What de yeh say teh ridin 'em?"

They all turned towards him as their mouths dropped to the ground.

"Are you serious?" Ben asked.

Sirius snorted, "No that's—"

Ursula grabbed her wand and jabbed him in the stomach, "I dare you to finish that sentence." Sirius just smirked at her but he noticeably didn't finish that sentence.

Hagrid nodded, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, "I git 'at yeh might not want teh ride 'em. Never mind me, I'll—"

"No!" James shouted out. "Would you really let us ride one?" He questioned with hopeful eyes.

"'ey seem teh've taken a likin' teh yeh's so as long as none of yeh tell anyone, I reckon they'll let yeh git on 'em."

He walked over to James first and easily picked him up and put him on the hippogriff. Hagrid slapped the flanks of the creatures and it reared up and took off running and eventually flying off towards the surrounding mountains. James's shouts of enjoyment were echoes in the wind as he soon became a small speck in the sky.

Elyse and Sirius were next. Hagrid helped Elyse in front and put Sirius on right behind her. Sirius saw her slightly shaking hands and, unable to tell if it was from nerves or excitement, he put his hands on her waist and leaned forward to softly say, "Don't worry, I won't let you fall."

With that, Hagrid hit the Hippogriff's side and they soon joined James. Elyse felt her heart jump to her throat when the animal took off. She heard Sirius's gleeful whoops behind her and she was oddly reminded of a muggle amusement park her mother took her too when she was just a kid. It was the same feeling; the wind rushing through her hair, adrenaline coursing through her veins, the dips and curves, the rush.

Just then, Ursula and Ben appeared next to them. Ursula was tightly holding onto Ben while he steered the creature. Elyse smirked when she saw the blush slowly spreading across Ursula's face and the satisfied smile on Ben's. If those two didn't get together over the summer, they would find themselves locked in a room together courtesy of a certain Elyse Catherin O'Brian.

"WHERE'S MOONY AND WORMY?" Sirius shouted over the rush of the wind.

Ursula laughed and answered, "LAST WE SAW MOONY, HE WAS COMPLAINING ABOUT HOW WE TALK HIM INTO STUFF LIKE THIS ALL THE TIME!"

Ben shook his head, laughing as well, "HE MAKES IT SOUND LIKE WE DO THIS ON A DAILY BASIS!"

Just then, Remus appeared next to him, holding onto the neck of the hippogriff for dear life. He gave them a death glare and mouthed, "I hate you all."

"LOOSEN UP MOONY! WHEN WILL WE EVER GET TO DO THIS AGAIN?" Sirius questioned.

"HOPEFULLY WHEN YOU BREAK OUT OF AZKABAN—NEVER!" With that, Remus suddenly dipped out of sight as his ride decided to go find James. Remus's terrified yelp echoed off the surrounding landscape, leaving the rest of his friends trying to stay on the hippogriff while laughing loudly.

Soon, all four animals caught up to each other and were calmly flying over the lake, letting their feet skim the water.

"Hey, where's Wormtail?" Elyse asked.

Remus snorted, "The hippogriff wouldn't let him near him. That and Peter was nearly wetting himself."

Ben tutted, "How in Merlin's name did that boy get in Gryffindor?"

"Search me."

As the rest of them discussed Peter's placement in Gryffindor, Ben subtly guided the animal away from their friends slightly. He turned his head towards Ursula and asked, "Do you trust me?"

Immediately, she nodded her head. He smiled triumphantly and grabbed her smaller left hand in his. Bending over slightly, he guided their hands over the side down to the water below them. Ursula laughed as the water parted under her fingers and soaked her jumper's sleeve. The sun was just setting over the lake so the water was warm and looked like a painting of red, orange, yellow; almost like the water was on fire. Oddly, it reminded Ursula of Ben's vibrant red hair and she couldn't help but wonder what it felt like to run her hand through it.

She blushed brightly at the thought and prayed that Ben didn't notice. Luck was not on her side at that moment as he turned to look at her, "What is it?"

Ursula shook her head, "Nothing. Nothing."

The look on his face clearly said that he didn't believe her but thankfully he dropped the subject. He gently dug his heels into the hippogriff's side and Ursula yelped in shock at the speed change. She quickly sat up straight and tightly wrapped her arms around Ben. She didn't know for sure, but if the sly smile on his face meant anything, Ursula had a feeling that he did that on purpose.

Not that she minded much as she gently placed her head on his shoulder and let herself be lulled into a state of safety and relaxation from the consistent rise and fall of the Hippogriff.

* * *

Monday night was a high contrast to their fun filled and exciting weekend. They all huddled around Remus and covered for him when he fell asleep in class or didn't know a question. It was after lunch that Remus couldn't take it anymore. He tried to stand up, but he wasn't able to lift himself off the bench. James and Ben sprang into action and gingerly helped their werewolf friend to his feet.

"Let's get you to the hospital wing," Ben suggested.

James nodded in agreement, "You look like shit."

The boy between them simply rolled his eyes, "Well, we know Lily isn't refusing you for your charm," he muttered.

Ignoring the jab at his love life, James helped guide Remus out of the Great Hall with the help of Ben. Sirius trailed behind them, saying something along the lines of making sure they can actually carry him.

Ursula felt someone watching them and the second her eyes turned towards the Slytherin table, her eyes locked with Severus Snape. They stared at each other, waiting for the other to look away first. Snape's eyes were suspicious and Ursula's stomach sank but she didn't make any outward sign of panic. Instead, she stared steadily back, giving away nothing.

Eventually, Mulciber sat down next to Snape, causing him to avert his gaze from the Gryffindor. Every so often, Ursula would see his eyes look towards the doors and when Sirius and the other two came back without Remus, she saw the wheels turning in his head and her stomach dropped.

He suspected something.

It was later that night and Ursula was just returning from the kitchens after hours to get some hot chocolate. Ever since she found out Remus's secret, she was never able to get any sleep on the full moon. She would just sit in the Common Room near a window and listen for any sound that Remus was hurt or in danger. She knew that could never do anything, but it made her feel like she was at least doing something for her friend.

"I'm surprised, I thought you all traveled in packs," a greasy voice drawled from behind her.

Ursula didn't even jump. She just subtly reached into her packet to finger her wand as she turned around to look at Snape.

"Contrary to what your house believes, we have spines when we aren't backed up by our friends," she countered when she saw her younger brother standing behind Severus. "It's a concept that you Slytherins apparently don't understand."

Snape scoffed, "Because whenever you fight me, it's always seven on one. Tell me how you have a spine."

"Tell me when you hexed James in the back and almost killed him. That's despicable," she spat at him. "You're lucky that Remus was there to save him."

The Slytherin tapped his chin thoughtful, "Speaking of him, where is Lupin?"

"He's in the hospital wing. He accidentally ate something he was allergic to," She evenly replied, the lie slipping easily off her tongue.

This time it was Regulus that scoffed, "Nice lie, sister, it would have been believable if we hadn't just come from there. It turns out your friend isn't there."

Ursula glared at her little brother, "I thought I wasn't your sister anymore? Or do you not recall saying you didn't have one a few months ago?"

Regulus flinched and backed off. Snape, however, stepped forward.

"You know, Black," he said so softly that Ursula had to listen closely to hear him, "we were just going to go look for some moonstone for a potion but do you happen to know that every single door to the outside is locked? The doors are never locked from the inside—just the outside. And just on the nights that your friend Lupin goes missing. Bit of a coincidence, don't you think?"

Ursula's blood ran cold. Her face almost immediately turned into her fiercest glare, her eyes hard steel, and she stepped towards her arch rival, "You listen up, Snivellus. You will go slither back to your depressing dungeon you called your common room and you will never question this again. If I ever catch wind that you did, you'll see that no matter what house I got sorted into, I'm still a Black. Now get out of my sight." She said in a threatening voice.

The color had drained from Snape's face and he mutely nodded and disappeared around the corner, Regulus right at his heels. The younger Black spared one look at his sister before he too disappeared from sight.

Hot chocolate forgotten, Ursula started running towards Gryffindor Tower. Elyse and the boys had to know what had happened. Snape suspected something. And the question wasn't if he would figure it out; it was when.

* * *

The exams came and went quicker than a nice day in summer. Transfiguration was first and although they hadn't received their scores yet, McGonagall stopped James and Ursula in the hallway and offered the pair one of her rare smiles and congratulated them on getting the highest scores of their year. They had just finished their last two exams, Defense Against the Dark Arts and History of Magic when Ursula realized that she left her copy of Quidditch Throughout the Ages in Clarke's room.

Elyse joined her as they went back to get the book while the boys went up to their dorms to relax after the exams. The second the girls walked into the room, they froze. All the posters and cages creatures that used to decorate the room were gone. The front desk that was always covered in a plethora of papers, bright colored quills, and random knickknacks was completely cleared off.

"Woot teh 'ell," Elyse asked in shock as Ursula quickly walked towards the teacher's office. She didn't even knock on the door before she stormed in.

"What's going on?" She asked loudly.

Clarke looked up from her half packed suitcase and sighed. She shook her head, "I thought that it was self explanatory; I'm leaving."

"Wha-what? Why?" Ursula sputtered. "You're the best Defense teacher we've ever had!"

Clarke smiled ruefully at the compliment, "It seems that a lot of others don't have the same opinion as you. Ever since I pulled that blood switching trick at the beginning of the year, there have been requests from parents to dismiss me for my 'overly forward and controversial teaching' but Dumbledore was always able to keep them at bay. But when I mentioned my sister being a werewolf, I never thought it would have the repercussions it did."

"Woot 'appened?" Elyse asked, almost scared of the answer.

The former teacher shook her head, "There have been three attempts on my sister's life and two attempted arrests on bogus charges. It got to the point that it didn't become worth it to stay here any longer. I have to protect my sister."

"But what will you do?" Ursula asked, saddened by the loss of one of her favorite professors.

"I hid it from the class but I got engaged over the Christmas Holiday and my fiancée is a Professor at Beauxbatons. He spoke to the headmistress and she offered me a job. She assured me that my sister wouldn't be a problem and that if needed, they could provide some assistance on full moons."

"NO! You should have stayed and fought for your job! This is where you belong; who cares about those Slytherins' parents!? You're the best bloody teacher we've ever had!"

"Ursula, language," Clarke chided as she put her hands on Ursula's shoulders. She looked her straight in the eye. "I know that Gryffindor is known as the house of the courageous but there are different types of courage. Sometimes, you have to find the courage to say no and give up. Sometimes, that takes more courage than saying yes."

That struck a chord in Ursula. She shook her head, "No, professor. If I had just given up with the stuff my mother tried to force me to believe, I would be in Slytherin wishing to be a Death Eater right now."

Clarke shook her head adamantly, "You misunderstand! Not every decisions should be given up on and you shouldn't always say no. In my situation, it became a choice between fighting for the job in the school I love and keeping my sister alive and safe. That's why I didn't fight." She paused and looked at the two girls, "You two don't understand it right now, but things are never black and white. There are pros and cons to everything and sometimes you have to do what you don't want to and fall into the grey area. One day, I hope you understand. Now, I still have some things to pack and I'm sure your friends are looking for you. If you please."

She walked back to another part of her office and started packing books the muggle way. Ursula and Elyse stood still a moment, still absorbing their former professor's words. Finally, Ursula found her voice and said, "Goodbye, Professor."

"We'll see yeh at teh End o' teh Year feast?" Elyse asked.

Clarke nodded, "I'll be there. And girls, don't ever feel hesitant to write. I'm sure that you might have some questions concerning your friend's condition at some point, or even if it is something else entirely, and I would be more than happy to keep in contact with you two, along with the rest of your year mates. You are special group, you are. I can tell."

Ursula and Elyse nodded with smiles on each other their face. "We'll keep that in mind." Ursula said before they turned and left the office.

* * *

It was a week later at the End of the Year Feast. The Hogwarts Choir was singing in the front while students listened to the mash up of multiple popular and classical wizard songs. After singing some songs that Ursula could not remember the names of, Ben joined them in their usual spot near the middle of the table.

"Nice job up there Ben," Ursula whispered as he sat next to her.

He smiled and nodded in thanks before Dumbledore stood up and opened his arms wide.

"Alas, another year has drawn to a close. There have been some ups and downs this year, from a Quidditch match that will go down as one of the closest in half a century, to seeing some of our students valiantly fight against the forces of evil. To the joyous memories we have made with friends that we will store forever in our minds, reminding us of good times as darker times gather around us.

"I have spoken to many of the graduating seventh years and besides finding out that many of them have questioned the validity of my beard at some point in their school lives, I found myself immersed in a diverse group of individuals that will undoubtedly make Hogwarts proud as they pursue jobs as Aurors, Healers, Unspeakables, shop apprentices, professional Quidditch players, and other magical jobs while some try their hands in the muggle world. No matter where any of you go or what you do, I know that this school will remain a part of you. I can promise you that Hogwarts will always be here to welcome you home in these Dark times."

Dumbledore paused and scanned the four house tables.

"These four tables physically separate us by houses, something that divides us further. Is there no such thing as a brave Ravenclaw? Or an ambitious Gryffindor? Perhaps a daring Hufflepuff? A loyal Slytherin? You are more than your houses; you are human beings that have the power to do much evil and destruction but also the power to create such good. In times like this, it is necessary that you all remember this.

"In a small irony, the time has come in my speech to announce the House Cup. In fourth place, Hufflepuff with four hundred and eighty-five points."

There was a modest amount of clapping.

"In third place Slytherin with five hundred and ten points."

There was some muttering and very little applause. James and Sirius smirked at each other when they saw the furious face of Snape. Ursula spared a look at Regulus who was just sitting at the end, broodingly as he swished the pumpkin juice in his cup around. A sigh escaped her lips. Pressure on her hand made her look up, right at Ben who was smiling comfortingly at her. She smiled back and squeezed his hand back under the table before turning back to Dumbledore.

"In second place," Dumbledore paused, the hall so quiet one could hear a pin drop, "with five hundred and eighty-six points, Ravenclaw!"

There were a few shouts of outrage from the Ravenclaw table (they fully expected to win) but the Gryffindor table's excited chattering drowned it out.

"And with six hundred and two points the House Cup goes to Gryffindor!" With a wave of the wand, the generic Hogwarts banners changed to brilliant red and gold. The highest most tapestry at the front of the hall changed into their house emblem as the entire house exploded in cheers.

The excitement carried throughout the feast and onto the train. Compared to other years when the train ride seemed to take forever, it seemed like a blink of the eye when they pulled into King's Cross station. Lily was waiting for Severus under the sign when she was almost run over by a cart with a trunk and a red headed girl being pushed by a shaggy haired boy.

"'ello Lily! Bye Lily!" Elyse joyfully shouted as she flew past. Sirius just laughed and pushed the cart faster towards the barrier, knocking over parents and students alike.

Lily watched as they came to a skidding halt just before the barrier. Elyse hopped down and gave Sirius and quick hug before she disappeared to the other side. She watched as Sirius stood still, blocking the exit until he was yelled at. He barely even flinched at the harsh tone of the father. He just stuck his hands in his pockets and started walking away.

She found his debonair attitude aggravating. Before she could start mentally ranting, the said boy's twin sister appeared at her side.

"Listen, Lily, I don't have a lot of time. I just need you to promise me that you won't write me over break. If my parents catch any letters from a muggleborn…I don't want to see you get hurt." Ursula said extremely fast.

"What?" Lily asked shocked.

"URSULA!" A woman screeched over the crowd. Ursula barely flinched and grabbed Lily's shoulders tightly, "Promise me." She whispered harshly.

Lily barely nodded before Ursula was quickly walking back towards her family with a dark expression on her face. Her mother had an ugly scowl on her face as she roughly grabbed Ursula's and Sirius's arms and apparated them out of the station while their father took their younger brother.

"They really need to get away from them."

Lily jumped a foot in the air and spun around to face the oddly serious face of James Potter. It was that simple fact that kept the harsh words from escaping her lips. She was slightly confused at his comment and it must have shown on her face because James continued, "Sirius only stays there for Ursula and she only stays there because she is still holding onto the hope that Regulus will renounce the family like the twins have and then they can all run away together and live happily ever after."

"He might," Lily countered, offended at his insinuation that all Slytherins had to be evil.

James chuckled and shook his head, "With parents like that? It's a miracle that he doesn't already have the Mark."

"You're just saying that because he's a Slytherin," Lily accused.

James looked at her oddly and shook his head, "No, I think that because of what he has done. Sirius and Ursula have told me a lot of different stories about their brother and I trust what they say; that kid is up to his eyes in dark arts and he seems to like it. I don't know where you get this idea that I hate all Slytherins; I like Slughorn well enough. It's just the ones into dark arts. I _hate_ anyone who practices dark arts. And my two best friends happen to live with parents and a younger brother who think dark arts are the way to go."

Lily looked at him as if she had never seen him before. James continued as if he hadn't said anything shocking, "They don't deserve to live in a house like that. Don't tell Ursula but my parents and I are making plans to get them out of that house—permanently before we graduate. Now, if you would excuse me my love, I must take my leave."

Before she could object, he grabbed her hand and kissed it before running over to the elderly couple that she could only assume were his parents. Lily turned around and pushed her hair out of her face as she tried to comprehend that she had just had a semi-civilized conversation with James Potter.

A little farther down the platform, Ben stood waiting for his mother to pick him up. Because of his father's position as Minister of Magic in times like this, his dad never went to King's Cross to pick up his son. It wasn't just for his safety, but for Ben's as well. Jay feared that someone would try to get to him through his son and it wasn't a risk that he didn't want to take.

He saw a flash of red hair over the crowd and picked up his trunk. But when the crowd thinned, his eyes widened in surprise when he saw Annabelle and Gideon standing there.

"Anna!" Ben exclaimed in shock as he ran forward to hug his big sister.

She laughed as he embraced her. When she released him, he moved to give Gideon a brotherly hug.

"What are you doing here?" He asked them.

His sister shared a smile with Gideon before turning back to him. "What? Can't a sister pick up her brother from school without getting the third degree?"

Ben rolled his eyes, "Only when I just saw you a couple of weeks ago." He said suspiciously. His eye caught a glittering on Annabelle's left hand and he looked at the pair in shock. "You're getting married."

Gideon laughed as he wrapped his arms around Annabelle, "Yup, I finally caught my little chaser."

"Congratulations you two," Ben said with a wide smile. "It's about time. Mom was about to imperious both of you to get you married."

"There's something else," Gideon said as he moved his hands to rest on Annabelle's stomach.

Ben's eyes were as big as saucers, "You two aren't…"

Annabelle nodded with the purest, happiest, motherly smile Ben had ever seen on her face.

"I'm having a baby."

* * *

_There you go; the last chapter of A Black and White Story: Book Two. My goal at the beginning of the summer was to finish this book before I went back to school and I am posting this chapter a day before I go back so I am quite proud of myself. _

_I hope that you all have enjoyed this book as much as you enjoyed the last one. The next book I am really looking forward to writing and I promise to try to get the next chapter out as soon as possible. I want to post two chapters a week, but with multiple AP classes, college applications, marching and jazz band, and musicals, I have a lot on my plate. But this story isn't going anywhere and I hope that none of you are going anywhere either. That is a promise; this story will be finished. If anything you wonderful reviewers, readers, favoriters, and alerters have inspired me even more to finish this story._

_Have a good week and be on the lookout for sequel news! And while you're waiting for the next book, go check out some of the one shots I've written. I haven't added a new one lately but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't read them!_


	23. Sequel Update

Hey everyone, the sequel to this is now up! Either go to my profile and find it, type in A Black and White Story: Book Three in the search engine, or just search for it under the same category as this story. Hope you all enjoy!


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